Baby Blues
by ReluctantSlashFan
Summary: Something goes terribly wrong for Stiles during a school project.
1. Chapter 1

**Don't even ask where this idea came from. I'm still asking myself the same question.**

**So, I promised a new Sterek story, and I delivered... just a month later than I planned.**

**Anyway, thanks for reading, drop me a comment if you can, and I don't own 'em.**

**Bye**

* * *

Stiles had only taken the class because it was a total slack off period. He didn't need it to graduate, didn't even need it to prepare for his future, but he had an extra class slot, didn't really feel like taking band or art (nor did he have the talent for either), so picked this one.

"These are your babies," his Parenting teacher, Mrs. Lopek, said as she gestured to a table filled with those animatronic babies. "When I call your name you'll pick a gender from this envelope," she waved the small, white envelope in the air, "and then pick your baby. I will then hand out the bags that will carry the equipment you will be using for the next two weeks.

"You are in charge of taking care of your child, and I will be keeping track of the amount of times you neglect it." Stiles was certain she shot a look his way. What the hell was that about? He wasn't going to neglect his fake baby. He wasn't that heartless. "You are also in charge of picking a mother or father; whether they be real or fake is entirely up to you. If they're real, they can help you take care of your child, but don't conveniently leave it with them." Again she shot Stiles a sharp look, and all he could do was give her an aghast look. What kind of father did she think he was?

Lopek proceeded to call up each of Stiles' classmates' names, unsurprisingly saving him for last. He got up, moving towards her desk, and stopped next to her. As she held out the envelope for him, Lopek said, "I saw what you did with that baby last year, Mr. Stilinski."

"What?" It took him a minute, but he finally realized what she was talking about. Scott had taken the class last year, because it was an easy A, and Stiles may have gotten a hold of his 'nephew' and attached it to a floor cleaner. It was fine, nothing to worry about, but apparently Lopek couldn't take a joke. Incidentally, Scott got a D on the project.

"If you do it again, I will fail you," Lopek whispered with a sniff, waving the envelope impatiently. Stiles reached into the envelope, pulled out a slip of paper, and unfolded it. In dark, block letters was the word 'BOY' and his height and weight.

"Congratulations, Mr. Stilinski. You gave birth to a mini-you," Lopek said drily and Stiles offered up a small smile before crossing the room to get his kid. He tried to hold it like a real baby, but a part of him felt that it was stupid to treat it like a real child. It wasn't alive; it wouldn't suddenly die if he happened to leave it somewhere. Why did he take this class again?

As he sat back down in his seat, he decided to name it Gadget just because that's what it was, and listened as his teacher gave some last minute instructions before the bell rang.

"Remember," Lopek called as the class packed up their stuff, her eyes locked on Stiles again, "these dolls cost over three hundred dollars. Don't break them."

**TW**

Derek picked him up after school, giving him a raised eyebrow when he got in the Camaro. "What," he started slowly, staring at Gadget, "is that?"

"It's our love child," Stiles replied softly, giving the werewolf a faux-hurt look. "Don't you recognize him?" He waved the baby in Derek's face and said, "Say Daddy, Gadget. Say Daddy."

"Gadget?"

"What? That's what it is. Plus, my second choice was Thingamajig and I had a feeling Lopek would have eaten my soul if I tried that name," Stiles defended the name, placing the kid on his lap. "It's for a school project. So, I'm not exactly putting a lot of time and effort into the name, but I did want to ask…" He gave Derek a serious look, very serious, and asked, "Will you be the father of our illegitimate love child?" He then beamed. Derek sighed heavily, shaking his head, putting his car into drive.

"Come on Der-Der. Gadget Stilinski-Hale has a nice ring to it. We can be the gay couple of Beacon Hills High. Or, well, the second gay couple right behind Danny and Isaac." He flashed Derek his best puppy dog look and said, "I am not above begging. I'll do it." He picked the baby up, putting it in front of his face, and said in a squeaky voice, "Please? For me."

"You're an idiot," Derek replied, fighting a smile. "Alright, but I'm not agreeing just so I can be your personal baby-sitter. This is _your_ project. I'm just going along for the ride."

"And oh what a long ride it'll be," Stiles murmured with a smirk, replacing Gadget on his lap.

"So, how long do you have… Gadget?" Derek made a face at the name, but otherwise didn't make any other comment about it.

"Two weeks," Stiles responded just as the thing started crying. He glanced over at Derek and asked, "What do I do?" The Alpha shrugged, obviously about as experienced with children as Stiles was. "Uh…" he started bouncing the thing, its head waggling back and forth.

"Wow, if we ever have kids I really hope you don't touch them," Derek commented offhandedly, but Stiles was too busy digging around the gray diaper bag to call him out on his words.

Not that they didn't freak him out just a little. He hadn't even thought about life after high school let alone settling down and having kids, and with Derek of all people. Were they ever going to be ready for _that_ type of commitment? Between all things supernatural and the hunters they'd be lucky to even survive his graduation let alone any possible future together. Though, thinking about it, it didn't sound so bad.

"Here," Stiles said finally finding a small, plastic bottle at the bottom of the bag. He shoved it in the baby's mouth, jiggling the kid again, this time a lot less aggressively, and, as it calmed down, said, "This parenting thing is going to be easy." He flashed Derek a smug grin, and the Alpha merely raised his eyebrows, glancing back at the road.

**TW**

"Dad!" Stiles called the moment he and Derek stepped into his house, dropping his backpack and Gadget's crap by the door. "Dad, you home? I brought your grandchild. He's raring to meet you." He walked further into the house, moving into the living room. "Father of mine, are you home?

"Looks like he's still at work," Stiles said with a grin, depositing Gadget on the coffee table before plopping down on the couch. He flipped the TV on, put his feet up, and glanced up at Derek. "Go make me a sammich."

"Go to hell," Derek responded with a grin, sitting next to him.

"Come on," Stiles whined his whole body flailing. "You make the best sandwiches."

"It's bread, cheese, and meat. It's hard to make a _bad_ sandwich, Stiles."

"Sometimes I wonder if you really love me," Stiles stated pouting. He then grinned, pecked a surprised Derek on the lips, and bounded to his feet. "Want a soda?"

"You're a pain in the ass you know," Derek called after Stiles as he rushed into the kitchen.

"You love me and you know it," the talkative teen retorted digging in his fridge.

"I thought you said I didn't love you." Stiles jumped, turning to see Derek standing in the entryway, arms crossed, a smirk on his face.

"I'm allowed to change my mind, and-" slowly Stiles crossed the room, "-I've had worse."

"Your eighth grade girlfriend?" Derek asked wrapping his arms around him.

"Oh yeah, she was awful. Never shut up."

"Sounds like somebody else I know."

"Was that an insult?"

"Would you like it to be?"

Their lips barely connected when Gadget started crying again. With an eye roll, Stiles stepped away from Derek and shouted, "I'm coming you stupid baby computer!"

**TW**

Two hours later, and Gadget was still crying. Stiles suspected the thing was defective. He actually wondered if Lopek had planned this out so he would fail. Derek had abandoned him twenty-five minutes ago. Okay, so he hadn't really abandoned him, Isaac had called and asked for his help, but it sure felt like he had deserted Stiles.

"Please shut up, Gadget," Stiles murmured bouncing the doll. "Please shut the hell up already. Gah, I'm going to shoot myself."

He tossed the baby onto his bed, diving under his bed for the green notebook full of spells Deaton made him copy down. Perhaps, if he was lucky, he could find a spell to silence the damn thing. Even for the night.

He flipped through the notebook, pacing back and forth, glaring at the still crying machine. He started muttering spells under his breath, fumbling with some of the words. He was never going to get the hang of the language, no matter how many years he practiced.

Finally, he just picked one at random, pointed his hand at the doll, and spoke the spell as clearly as possible. His hand got really hot before immediately becoming cold. However, instead of stopping, the doll's crying seemed to get louder.

"Really?" Stiles dropped his notebook, hanging his head. "Just stop already." He looked up, intending to grab the doll and shake it, but froze when he noticed a real baby lying on his bed, small body flailing as it continued to scream. "Holy shit," he whispered crossing the room in an instant. "What did I do? What did I do?"

Yep, he was definitely failing the class.


	2. Chapter 2

**Hey guys. First let me say thank you so, so, so, so much for the reviews and alerts last chapter. I'm glad you guys are liking this so far, and here's hoping you stick with it until the end.**

**So, thanks for reading, drop me a comment if you can, and I still don't own anybody recognizable.**

**See ya**

* * *

"Sorry about this," Isaac said as he led Derek down the stairs of the McCalls' basement. "Scott and Danny were supposed to help me, but Scott had to work and Danny's visiting his aunt."

"Just tell me what you need me to do," Derek stated letting his eyes flick up the steps, towards the open door. As long as that door stayed open, he'd be fine. It was a bit stupid, really, to feel this anxious in a basement, but, since the fire, he couldn't help it.

"We just need to get these boxes," Isaac pointed at a few dozen boxes scattered across the floor, "on those shelves." He then pointed at a couple shelves, built into the wall. "I made them for Mrs. McCall as a sort of thank you for letting me stay here." Isaac's face flushed slightly and he averted his eyes from Derek. "She didn't have to, and I know she can't really afford two kids, and I do give her half my pay check from the grocery store, even though she told me I didn't…"

"Hey," Derek said softly, catching Isaac's eyes, "she did this because she wanted to, and I swear sometimes I think she loves you more than Scott." Isaac gave Derek a small smile before turning to the junk littering the floor.

The two werewolves began the slow process of moving boxes. It wasn't hard work, not with their supernatural strength, but it was tedious, and it didn't help that Derek's eyes kept glancing at the open door, making sure it stayed open.

They were three-fourths of the way through the boxes when Derek's phone rang. He put down the box he was holding, wiped his face with his t-shirt, it was practically stifling in Scott's basement, and pulled his cell from his pocket.

"Stiles, I've only been gone thirty…"

"_Derek, I need help_," Stiles interrupted in a slightly panicked voice over the sounds of a baby crying in the background.

"It's just a doll, Stiles," the Alpha said slowly, trying to keep a chuckle at bay.

"_No, no it's not_," Stiles replied quickly. "_I made a mistake, the thing is real, I don't know what to do, and I can't very well give it anything solid because it doesn't have teeth and_…"

"Wait, what do you mean it's real?"

"_…and I tried the key thing. You know the key thing. You jingling keys in the kid's face and it's supposed to see the shiny thing and go 'oh, look, keys. I should pay attention to those.' But it just keeps crying. Then I actually tried to pick it up, you know babies enjoy that sort of crap, but I swear the moment I touched it, it started screaming at me like I was murdering…" _Stiles trailed off, taking a deep breath. "_You need to help me right now."_

Derek was still trying to wrap his head around the whole 'Gadget the doll suddenly being real' thing, but he agreed to help Stiles anyway. Recently, it had started to become increasingly harder to say 'no' to the younger boy, especially when he was bordering on a panic attack, and Derek was soon turning to Isaac and saying, "Are you okay on your own?"

"Yeah, why?" The younger boy had, in fact, heard the conversation, but he was just as clueless as Derek.

"Uh, I'm not sure," Derek responded stashing his phone in his pocket. He rushed up the stairs, snatching his jacket off the back of a kitchen chair, and headed out the door.

He made it to Stiles' place in a matter of minutes, jumped out of his car, and ran towards the front door. Without bothering to knock, he threw the door open and rushed inside, skidding to a halt when he noticed a very harried looking Stiles bouncing a very real baby, muttering curse words under his breath, trying to get it to stop crying.

The baby looked about five months old with dark hair and pale skin. His face was red from crying, scrunched up, and it seemed to be taking all of Stiles' power not to drop him with how badly he was squirming.

"Oh my God, you're here," Stiles exclaimed the moment he saw Derek. He crossed the room in a second, depositing the baby in the Alpha's arms. "Make it stop."

"What did you do?" Derek fumbled with the baby, trying to keep it from falling out of his arms.

"I don't know," Stiles admitted, furiously pacing back and forth. "I was trying to put a spell on him, to silence him, and _this_," he gestured to the baby, "happened."

"What did Deaton say about doing random magic?" Derek managed to get the baby in a semi-cradled position, his arms absentmindedly bouncing his body.

"Stow the lecture, Derek," Stiles snapped running a hand through his hair. "I just need three…" he trailed off as the baby quieted down, resting its head on Derek's shoulder. "Are you freaking kidding me?"

"What?"

"That." Stiles gestured to the baby, scowling at the look of content on his face. "Seriously, I've been trying that for the past two hours, as a doll and as a real boy, and I couldn't get it to do that. How did you…?" He raised his hands. "You know what, I don't even care. It stopped crying and that's all I care about."

"Okay, explain to me what happened," Derek stated following Stiles into the living room. The younger boy sat down on his couch, burying his face in his hand.

"Like I said, I wanted Gadget to shut the hell up, so I figured a spell might do the trick. I guess I messed up some of the words or something because he's…" he trailed off, peeking out from between his fingers, nodding at the baby. "We need to get him to Deaton, see what he has to say, maybe figure out how to change him back because I could give a shit less about the class, but I don't feel like paying three hundred dollars for a new doll if we can't."

"Maybe we should get him something to eat first," Derek suggested glancing down at the baby. His eyes met Derek's, a pair of light brown eyes that matched Stiles' eyes. "Did you at least try feeding him?"

"With what? My dad's secret stash of Funyuns he doesn't think I know about?"

"It's called the grocery store," Derek pointed out slowly, already heading towards the door. "Come on, maybe we can find matching pacifiers for you and the kid."

"Oh, hardy freaking har," Stiles retorted following him. "May I suggest you take your one man show on the road?" He continued sardonically, closing and locking the door behind him.

**TW**

The grocery store was crowded, but Gadget seemed to enjoy all the chaos. He let his bright, brown eyes take in all the sounds and colors, his tiny hands clapping together every so often. Several times, he reached for Derek from the cart, completely ignoring Stiles. Apparently, his illegitimate, fake, turned real baby hated him.

"I don't see why he hates me," he complained to Derek as they walked up and down the aisle. "I mean, I gave him a name, and the four hours I've had him I've taken semi-good care of him."

"You named him Gadget, turned him into a real baby, and swore at him," Derek pointed out as he put a thing of baby formula in the cart. "I'm not surprised he hates you."

"You're not supposed to agree with me," Stiles grumbled crossing his arms. "You're supposed to say I'm being an idiot, and he doesn't really hate me."

"Why would I lie to you?" Derek retorted with a grin on his face. Stiles merely glared at him, but otherwise didn't say anything else. "Look, there's no need to stress out about this. I'm sure Deaton will change him back in no time, and you can forget your screw up. He'll go back to being a doll, you'll go back to not caring, and by Monday morning you'll have forgotten him at my apartment."

"I'm not going to forget him," Stiles hissed grabbing a baby bottle at random. "I will be a very good parent to Pinocchio."

"Oh, so you've changed his name?"

"No, but that's what he is…" the younger boy trailed off, smacking himself in the forehead. "Oh my God, that makes me his blue fairy. This is just great. What does that make you; Geppetto?"

Derek merely rolled his eyes, tossing a two pack of pacifiers into the cart. He then topped off his purchases with some diapers and wipes before pushing the cart towards checkout.

As they stood in line, Gadget's eyes filled with tears and he started screaming. Stiles gestured to Derek to pick him up, muttering, "Since _you're_ his favorite."

Derek tried picking Gadget up, tried bouncing him, but this time he didn't seem to want to stop, and he'd have to be blind to miss the triumphant look on Stiles' face. With on, last ditch effort, the Alpha popped open the pacifiers, pulled one out, and popped it into the screaming baby's mouth. He ignored the look the cashier threw him, figuring if he was going to pay for the damn things he was going to use them, and he breathed a sigh when the baby calmed down.

"Now you're just showing off," Stiles grumbled as he began piling their stuff onto the checkout counter. Stupid baby and stupid Alpha being good with the stupid baby; how is that even possible? Derek rarely spent time with people, what made him so good with babies? Was it the scruff? Maybe Stiles should grow some scruff.

Once they had been rung up, and Derek paid, Stiles was delegated the task of carrying their purchases while Derek held their illegitimate, fake, turned real baby that happened to hate Stiles despite what Derek said.

"Stop sulking," Derek stated as he got into Stiles' jeep.

"I'm not sulking," Stiles replied unconvincingly, tossing their shopping bags in the backseat, getting into the drive seat. "I don't even care anymore."

"Okay," Derek answered skeptically. "I'll take your word for it."

"Good because I don't." And he didn't. It was _just_ a stupid doll that so happened to be real at that moment. So what if it, _he_, liked Derek better; why should Stiles care? It's not like he was their _real_ child. He was a school project. Nothing more.

It didn't stop him from muttering, "Stupid baby," as he started his jeep. He then put it in drive and sped out of the parking lot.

**TW**

"Explain to me again, how you managed to turn your school project into a real baby," Deaton said slowly, eyeing Stiles incredulously. Derek held a smile at bay, too busy heating up a bottle on the vet's stove.

"I said a spell and now he's…" he gestured to the baby in Derek's arms. "Can you fix him?"

"What did I tell you about doing random magic?"

"Oh my God, seriously, can we save the speech for later?"

Deaton sighed, glancing back at Gadget. "What spell did you use?"

"I don't know. I think it had an 'e' in it."

With another sigh, the vet ran his hands down his face. He then looked at Stiles again and asked, "If I show you some spells do you think you can recognize it?"

"We can give it a shot," the younger boy replied and followed the vet out of the kitchen and towards his study. Derek stayed behind, pulling the baby bottle from the sauce pan. He recalled how his aunt used to check his cousin's bottle, dabbing a little on his wrist to gauge the temperature, before replacing Gadget's pacifier with the bottle.

"You know, buddy, you're driving Stiles crazy," he stated as he slowly paced back and forth, holding the bottle in a loose grip. "He thinks you hate him, which might be true, but maybe you should ease up a bit. He didn't mean to make you real."

Gadget's eyes slowly closed, Derek wondered if he had heard him or not, and if he had was he going to take the Alpha's advice. He may be an infant, but he was also a baby made from magic. Who knew just how intelligent he really was; just what he could understand. He also seemed to take after Stiles in eye color and hair, which really intrigued Derek.

By the time Stiles and Deaton returned, Gadget was fed, changed, and asleep in Derek's arms, his red pacifier in his mouth. The older boy gave the two an expectant look, and Stiles quietly said, "It has to wear off."

"How long will he be like this?" Derek asked curiously.

"Probably a week, maybe longer," Deaton replied slowly, leaning against his counter. "This is why I said…"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah," Stiles interrupted, waving his hand. "I'm sorry I blue faired all over the doll. Next time I'll just let it malfunction."

"You said it wouldn't stop crying," Derek pointed out quietly.

"Semantics."

"Look, just keep an eye on him, and if anything strange happens…"

"Like a school project turning real," Stiles and Derek mumbled together.

"…just call me," Deaton continued as if neither said a word. He then showed them out.

On the ride back to Stiles' place, neither boy said a word to each other. Stiles was too busy muttering under his breath about stupid decisions and life hating him while Derek gently rocked Gadget. Before the fire, he had actually been pretty good with babies. His mother said he got it from his grandmother, and Laura had called him a girl for it, but he didn't care. It wouldn't hurt to dust off those old skills, even if it was only for a week. He had been getting better since the fire, since Stiles; maybe this would be another step on his way to recovering. It was worth a shot.

"Oh great, my dad's home," Stiles grumbled putting his car into park. "Let's see how well he takes me doing magic again." Derek recalled the last time Stiles did magic in his house. He had set the curtains on fire, and it had taken some quick thinking on Lydia's part to stop the flames from taking out the entire wall. Gadget should count himself lucky he had _just_ become real.

The two boys walked inside, Stiles carrying Gadget's stuff while Derek carried Gadget, both stopping in the doorway. Sheriff Stilinski glanced over the back of the couch at them and called, "Hey boys, you two okay if I order…" he trailed off, his eyes settling on the baby. "Why do you two have a baby?"

He stood up, maneuvering around the couch to cross the room, stopping within three feet of them. He eyed Gadget warily and pleaded, "Please tell me you didn't steal him."

"Dad, why would we steal him?" Stiles moved past his father, heading into the kitchen. The older man quickly followed his son, Derek right on his heels.

"I don't know. It's just…" he trailed off, running a hand through his hair. "I've been having this reoccurring dream where you steal a baby from the zoo."

"Why are you dreaming about a zoo full of babies?" Stiles gave his dad a questioning look, leaning against the counter.

"It's not…" he sighed, running a palm down his face. "You steal this baby, bring it home, and tell me that you and Derek are going to raise it. Then it turns into cheese."

"Dad, I sometimes worry about you."

"It's not funny, Stiles. Where did you get that baby?"

"Remember how you told me not to do magic in the house again?" Stiles asked carefully, his father nodded. "Well, I did magic in the house again," the younger boy continued, turning his back on his dad, busying himself with unloading Gadget's stuff.

"What?" the sheriff sagged against the fridge. "How did…? What did…? What?"

"Use your words, father," Stiles said with a barely concealed smile. He wiped it off his face when his father glared. "Okay," he started sighing, "you know how I took that parenting class? Well, the doll wouldn't stop crying, so I kinda, sorta, did a spell."

"And you kinda, sorta turned it real?"

"Well, no kinda, sorta about it, Pop. He's real and now we're stuck with a baby until the spell wears off."

Sheriff Stilinski tipped his head back, taking a deep breath. He let it out, lowered his head to look at his son, and asked, "How do you keep ending up in situations like this?"

"I don't know, Dad. It's a gift."


	3. Chapter 3

**Shorter than the last chapter, but I liked where this one ended.**

**Thanks for the reviews, alerts, and favs last chapter. You guys are amazing.**

**Thanks for reading, drop me a comment if you can, and all things Teen Wolf related are not mine.**

**Bye**

* * *

"I can't believe you kept all my baby crap," Stiles said as he followed his father into the garage.

"Your mom wanted it all, you know, in case…" his father trailed off, sniffing once, and immediately began searching the boxes lining the garage wall, looking for one in particular. Stiles watched his dad, noting the tense set of his shoulders. Every time the subject of his mother came up, his father closed off. Sometimes he wanted to talk about his mom, and he wished he and his father talked like two normal people. But that wasn't going to happen anytime soon, so Stiles merely sighed and began helping his father search.

"Here it is," the older announced a few moments later, jumping down from a small footsteps, carrying a dusty box labeled: _Stiles' baby stuff_. He blew the dust off, both father and son coughing, and started inside.

Derek looked up from the couch, gently rocking the old car seat Stiles' dad dragged out of the attic, Gadget sleeping contently inside. He eyed the box for a moment before moving Gadget to the side to allow the older man to place the box on the coffee table.

"Some of this stuff may need to be cleaned," Sheriff Stilinski stated opened the flap. "It's been eighteen years since it's been open." He pulled out a few, faded teething rings, a red Elmo pacifier, and an Oscar the Grouch rattle. Placing them on the table, he started piling baby clothes next to them.

"Your mother liked Sesame Street," the sheriff commented when Stiles took in several items with characters from the show depicted on them.

"I'm not complaining," Stiles stated with a shrug, digging into the box. He found a pair of booties, tiny mittens, and an old baby book. Curiously, he flipped through it, but found it only went to seven months.

"Your mother lost interest," his father commented with a shrug. "She said it wasn't worth it when 'there's this fancy thing called cameras.'" He smiled for a second, sorrow still evident in his eyes, but it quickly wilted and he returned to the box. Both Stiles and Derek shared a quick look, but didn't say anything.

By the box was empty, Gadget was awake and watching everyone curiously. Sheriff Stilinski left the boys alone to sort the stuff, taking Gadget into the kitchen to give him a bottle, quietly talking to him.

"We should clean these things," Derek suggested holding up the teething rings and rattle. "We don't want him putting anything dirty in his mouth."

"He's a doll, Der. I don't think his chances of getting sick are very high," Stiles commented picking through the pile of clothes.

"You never know."

"Aw, Der-Der, you're such a good mommy," Stiles teased and Derek glared at him. He merely grinned, continuing to sort through the clothes. "We should wash this stuff, too, and then pack it up so you can take it home."

"Home? Me take it home? Why am I taking it home?" Derek gave Stiles a confused look, raising one eyebrow.

"Clearly he's not staying here. He hates me…"

"Stiles, he doesn't hate you," Derek said evenly, giving him a small smile. "It's all in your head."

"No, Der, he hates me. It's just the way he looks at me. You can tell. So, it'd be better if you just take him until he becomes normal again."

"This is your project. You can figure out how to cope with him." Derek abruptly stood, collected all the clothes, and walked out of the room.

"Great, now he's mad at me," Stiles grumbled leaning back into the couch. He never should have taken the stupid class.

**TW**

That night, after Derek left, making it quite clear that he was not mad at Stiles just frustrated, the two Stilinski men and Gadget sat in the living room, watching some old movie on the television.

"He hates me," Stiles said with a heavy sigh, watching as his father easily rocked Gadget back and forth. "There's no other explanation. He lets Derek hold him, you hold him, but the moment I touch him he starts screaming."

"You're being melodramatic," the older man said with a smirk, holding a bottle while Gadget drank from it. "He doesn't hate you. He probably senses your anxiety. It's the exact way I felt when you were born."

"Really?"

"Yes, but I eventually pushed past it and you were okay with me holding you," his father continued getting to his feet. "Here." He held Gadget out. Stiles gave him a 'are you crazy' type look and shook his head. "Stiles, it's not going to get easier if you don't try. Take him."

"But dad…"

"You made him, you take care of him," his father stated and finally, with a sigh, Stiles allowed his father to set the baby in his arms. He then slapped the bottle in Stiles' left hand and headed towards the stairs. "Remember, sometimes babies cry."

"What does that…?" the talkative teen cut off when Gadget's face scrunched up. "Hey, hey, don't do that," he begged giving the bottle to the baby. "It's okay buddy. You're okay." The baby gave him a wary look before accepting the bottle, taking greedy sips, his tears all but forgotten. "Yes, that's a good boy. Don't cry. Stiles isn't going to hurt you. Who needs broody Derek and his sexy stubble when you've got me?"

A while later, Stiles still holding baby Gadget, the two found themselves watching some movie that came out a good twenty years ago. "See that's why you don't trust your friends. They'll kidnap you, steal your dad's expensive car, and then sign your death warrant when they stupidly allow you to knock it out a window."

Gadget's brown eyes were locked on Stiles' face, watching him intently. The talkative teen glanced down at him and asked, "What are you staring at? Is there something on my face?" Gadget merely drooled, still staring at Stiles.

"That's sorta creepy; you staring at me like that. It kinda reminds me of Derek." Again he didn't get a reply, not like he was expecting one. Instead, Gadget started chewing on his hand, his eyes closing. "Are you going to sleep? Hey, it sure beats the crying."

Absentmindedly, Stiles started rocking Gadget, mumbling some old rock song under his breath. He heard the baby sigh before falling asleep, his little body stretching out, again reminding Stiles of Derek.

Stiles wasn't sure when exactly he fell asleep, but the next thing he knew, something was jumping up and down on his stomach. He peeled his eyes open, his vision blurring for a second, before snapping into focus on a slightly bigger baby, probably no older than one.

For a moment, Stiles wasn't sure who he was looking at, but he then recognized the dark hair and eyes and he felt his heart stop. It seemed Gadget had aged over night.

_How was that even possible_?


	4. Chapter 4

**Here you guys go. This chapter is a bit longer.**

**So, thanks to those who reviewed, alerted, and favorited last chapter. I am so glad you guys are enjoying this story.**

**Anyway, all references to anything recognizable are not mine, thanks for reading, and drop me a comment if you can.**

**See ya**

* * *

"_Did you do more magic?"_

"No, I don't know what happened," Stiles said into his phone, once again pulling Gadget away from the light socket. He seemed to be obsessed with the thing, and Stiles couldn't quite get the picture of the baby putting his tiny fingers in the hole and electrocuting himself to death.

"_Explain to me what happened one more time,"_ Deaton stated slowly, patiently. Stiles drew in a deep breath, picked Gadget up mid-crawl to the light socket, and once again recapped his morning since waking up.

"_When you say he aged…?"_

"Would you like me to send you a picture?" Stiles retorted struggling to keep a hold of the squirming baby.

"_Stiles, I am just trying to understand. And, if you can recall, this is your fault. Are you sure you showed me the correct spell?"_

"Yes," Stiles replied nodding. He then frowned, biting his bottom lip. "Maybe?"

Deaton sighed and said, "_I'm coming over in a few minuets with some more spell books."_

"But…"

"_I just want to be sure, Stiles_." And Deaton hung up.

Stiles ended the connection, tossed his phone onto his couch, and looked down at Gadget who was still struggling to get down. "I should probably call Derek."

"Der, Der," Gadget said ceasing his struggles, bouncing happily in Stiles' arms. "Der, Der."

"Is that your first word? What the hell happened to Dada?" Stiles asked curiously, moving to get his phone, stopping when he heard someone knock at the door. He stepped away from the couch, heading towards the front door, opening it to reveal Derek.

"I was just about to call you," Stiles said letting the Alpha into his house.

Derek eyed Gadget curiously and said, "He wasn't that big when I left him with you."

"So you've noticed," Stiles retorted drily.

Gadget reached for Derek, happily saying, "Der, Der, Der."

"Hey, look Der, he knows your name," Stiles state cheerfully, letting the Alpha take Gadget. "I told you he liked you better."

"Why is he bigger?" Derek asked slowly, warily. "Did you do more magic?"

"Deaton asked the same question." The younger boy rolled his eyes. "And the answer is no. I have not done anymore magic. This is the same spell, the same Gadget, the same Stiles screw up." Stiles moved away from Derek, heading into the living room.

"You didn't know what was going to happen," Derek said slowly, following Stiles. Keeping one arm around Gadget, the Alpha wrapped his other around Stiles and continued, "Think of it this way. You're getting a better education than the rest of the kids in your class. They only get a doll for two weeks while you're getting an aging, living, child. It'll be like raising a kid, just not as long and not as expensive."

"If he keeps aging this rapidly it will be," Stiles muttered resting his head on Derek's shoulder. "He's Remynessing all over the place."

"Who?" Derek's eyebrows furrowed.

"You know, the baby from the Twilight movies…?" Stiles smacked himself in the head causing Gadget to giggle. "Who am I kidding? You have no idea who I'm talking about." Derek shook his head, snorting, tightening his hold on Stiles.

Gadget suddenly gave a squeal, letting the two boys know he was still there, and immediately began clapping his hands. "We should probably get him some more supplies," Derek suggested bouncing the dark haired baby.

"You go. Deaton is on his way over with some spell books." Stiles untangled himself from Derek's hold, heading into the kitchen. "I think I showed him the wrong spell."

"Did you just pick the closest one to the real spell?" Derek asked curiously, following Stiles.

"There were so many of them," Stiles admitted after a beat, digging around in his fridge, wriggling a little. "I didn't want to keep staring at all those spells. A part of me wanted to try all of them out, the other part was complaining about a headache, and this itty, bitty, teeny, tiny part wanted soup. Why soup? I have no freaking clue." Stiles backed out of the fridge, holding a soda, and glanced over at Derek. "Look, can you do me a huge favor…?"

"You want me to take Gadget?"

"Just for a few hours; he won't leave the light sockets alone, he almost hit his head twice on the coffee table when he pulled himself up, and there is only so much Teletubbies I can watch before I want to blow my brains out."

Derek was quiet for a moment, but he finally sighed and nodded. "Fine, but you need to find him some new clothes before we go."

"Already way ahead of you," Stiles stated heading towards the garage. "I'm sure my dad has all of my crap in here." Right on cue, Stiles heard thudding on the stairs and his father came around the corner, running a towel through his wet hair.

"Whose crap?" he asked curiously. He stopped mid-step, eyes falling on Gadget. "Did you do more magic?" the older man asked, glancing at his son.

Stiles threw his arms in the air, continuing into the garage muttering, "Why does everyone keep asking me that?"

**TW**

After dressing Gadget in an old, faded, red flannel, green Batman shirt, and blue jeans, Derek loaded the kid up in his car and drove him to the grocery store. He looked back at the baby, noting how uncomfortable he looked in the old car seat, and said, "It's necessary, buddy. I don't feel like getting a ticket."

"No," Gadget announced shaking his head. "No, no." He banged his hands on the sides of the seat. Again, Derek wondered just how intelligent the baby was; he had already learned six new words since leaving Stiles' place.

Once at the grocery store, Derek placed Gadget in the cart and immediately began pushing him. He seemed to recognize the place from yesterday before and happily bounced in the cart. "Der, Der, Der," he chanted smacking his palms against the back of Derek's hands. "Sty? Sty?" He suddenly called, looking around.

"Are you looking for Stiles?" Derek asked curiously.

"Sty?" Gadget said again, giving the Alpha a questioning look. "No? Sty?"

"You'll see him later," Derek replied softly, heading down the baby aisle. "Damn." Derek retracted his steps, moving down the cat food aisle instead, hoping to avoid a certain strawberry blonde.

"Damn," Gadget echoed and giggled, clapping his hands. "Damn, damn, damn." _That was just perfect. Teach the electronic living baby to swear, Derek no one will notice, _he thought with a sigh, trying to get as far away from…

"Derek?" A familiar voice called and Derek rolled his eyes. Of course she saw him.

He turned, watching as Lydia moved towards him, and then glanced back at Gadget. "That's Lydia. Your daddy Stiles used to be in love with her."

"Lyd?" Gadget cocked his head, watching as Lydia approached him. "Da-da Sty? Der?"

"Oh my God, are you and Stiles finally getting a pet? I told him he should…" Lydia trailed off, her green eyes zeroing in on Gadget. "Whose baby is that?"

"Uh…" Derek saw this going one of two ways: he could tell the truth and end up involving the entire pack (something he and Stiles hadn't really discussed yet) or he could lie and just run away as fast as possible. He supposed he could also push Lydia into a shelf, but he figured that was a little excessive and immediately dismissed the idea.

However, before he could make a decision, Lydia said, "He looks a bit like you, but those eyes are definitely Stiles'…" her eyes widened and both of her hands covered her mouth. Slowly, after a long pause, she lowered her hands and hissed, "Did you two make a magic baby?"

"What? No. At least not me." Derek really needed to get away from her.

"Stiles? Stiles made a magic baby?" Derek nodded and Lydia sighed. "What did Deaton say to him about doing random magic?"

"Mag," Gadget announced happily, banging his palms against Derek's hands again. "Mag, mag, mag."

"Look, according to Deaton the spell will wear off in about two weeks," Derek explained slowly moving away from Lydia. _I hope_, he added silently. "So, until then we're dealing with it. And can you please, for Stiles, keep this from the rest of the pack."

"What happened to that, you know, honor among pack stuff?" Lydia asked putting her hands on her hips.

"This is Stiles' problem not the packs'. We don't need to involve them, okay?" Derek was still trying to subtly get away from the strawberry blonde. "Just keep it to yourself, Lydia."

She sighed heavily but agreed. She then started walking with Derek, offering Gadget a small smile. "He is sorta cute. And I'm not kidding about him looking like you. Do you think Stiles had you two in mind when he conjured it?"

"Him," Derek corrected automatically. "Gadget."

"Gadget?" Lydia raised one, perfect eyebrow. "Who the hell names a kid Gadget?"

"Hell," Gadget announced bouncing up and down in his seat. By the rate he was learning, the kid would know every single swear word by the end of the day.

"It's a long story," Derek responded with a shrug, resigning to the fact that Lydia was not going to be leaving him alone. "Look, if you're going to follow me, make yourself useful." They stopped in the baby aisle and Derek gestured around them. "Get some baby food."

"I am not your personal assistant," Lydia protested but was already grabbing a couple jars of cooked carrots. She added them to the cart, alongside the diapers Derek already added. He then grabbed some of those pull-ups for toddlers, too. Just in case Gadget aged again tomorrow.

An elderly woman walked past Lydia and Derek, a small smile on her face, and said, "He's adorable. Looks just like his daddy. How long have you two been together?"

Both werewolf and witch exchanged a quick glance before the latter launched into a tirade. "We're not together. We're not even close to together. For one, my boyfriend is named Jackson. Two, even if I were single, Derek is not. And three, tall, dark, and hairy over here may be gorgeous but that doesn't mean squat when he's in a happy relationship with another guy. Another guy, might I add, who is my best friend."

The lady merely nodded, eyes wide, and quickly shuffled away. Derek waited until she was around the corner before glancing over at Lydia. "Tall, dark, and hairy?"

"Just stating facts," Lydia retorted and grabbed a teething ring, tossing it in the cart. "Maybe we should get him some juice," she suggested grabbing a few more jars of baby food.

After the grocery store, Lydia insisted on dragging Derek to the mall for Gadget. He tried to explain that getting the baby new clothes was pointless, he was bound to age again fairly soon, but she waved his protests away.

"We'll just get him a few new outfits for each age," she said dragging Derek through the doors into the busy mall. "He can't keep wearing Stiles' hand-me-downs. I mean, even at one the boy had atrocious taste."

"No. Tas," Gadget stated bouncing happily in Derek's arms.

"See, even Gadget agrees," Lydia stated with a smile and continued to drag the Alpha through the crowd. Derek prayed to whoever was listening to give him enough patience to live through the impromptu shopping trip.

**TW**

"Was it this one?" Deaton asked curiously, showing Stiles another spell.

"It could be," Stiles replied directly across from the vet, elbow resting on his kitchen table, chin resting in his palm. "I can't be sure."

Deaton sighed and said, "Go get your spell book."

"We could have done that an hour ago," Stiles whined but pushed himself to his feet and headed up the stairs. When he returned a few moments later, carrying his trusty green notebook, he felt his jaw drop when he noticed the shopping bags littering his kitchen table.

"What the hell happened to a few supplies?" he asked glancing over at a very tired looking Derek. In his arms, Gadget was passed out against his shoulder, snoring softly against his neck.

"Oh shush, Stiles," Lydia snapped coming into the house with a few more bags. "He needed this just as much as you need the green leather jacket I found you. It was on sale for like seventy-five percent off. It's this dark, dragon green, and I figured it would go well with that flannel you…"

"Lyd, I can't keep all this stuff," Stiles announced sifting through a few of the bags. "When the spell wears off what am I going to do with it?"

"Donate it, return it, I don't care," she responded digging in one of the grocery bags, slapping a jar of peas into Derek's palm. "Feed Gadget."

He sighed, but stood up, pulled a package of tiny spoons from another grocery bag, and carried the baby into the living room. Stiles tossed his spell book onto the table, watching it land on top of a couple bags, and quickly followed Derek.

"You told Lydia," he hissed towering over the werewolf.

"No," Derek responded calmly from the couch, gently waking Gadget.

He blinked twice, letting his eyes settle on Stiles. Happily he clapped and said, "Da-da Sty."

"What?" Stiles was fairly certain Gadget only knew the word 'Der' when he left the house. "When did he…?"

"I think the magic that created him made him more intelligent than the average baby," Derek pointed out popping open the top of the baby food. "As for Lydia knowing, she ran into me at the grocery store and put two and two together. You know how smart she is." Stiles nodded. "As for the stuff, she insisted on taking me shopping for Gadget, and you know Lydia. Once she gets something in her head …"

"…nothing's going to change her mind," Stiles finished with a defeated sigh, heavily sitting down next to Derek. He studied Gadget for a moment, watching him kick his legs in the car seat, and then asked, "How intelligent do you think he is? Is he like Baby Genius' smart? Or Smart Guy smart? Maybe Sheldon Cooper smart. Hey, maybe before this spell wears off, we can sign him up for Jeopardy. He could win us a lot of money."

"Damn," Gadget announced dribbling a mouthful of peas down his chin.

"Or he could just swear at the host and win us nothing," Derek commented with a shrug, using the spoon to clean up Gadget's chin.

The two boys were quiet for a few moments, Derek continuing to feed Gadget while Stiles stayed trapped in his own head, but he finally broke the silence with a sigh. "Should we tell the rest of the pack?"

"Lydia promised not to say anything," Derek replied slowly, concentrating on spooning peas into Gadget's mouth. "And Isaac doesn't know enough to tell anyone. I mean, we could tell the pack, if you want, but what would it achieve?"

"I don't want them to think we're keeping Gadget from them," Stiles commented softly, using his sleeve to clear away some of the peas from Gadget's face.

"How's about if it comes up we'll tell them?" Derek compromised glancing over at Stiles.

"Okay," the younger boy responded nodding. He then glanced over his shoulder and said, "I'd better go see if I can find that spell for Deaton." He stood up, kissed Derek's hair, and started towards the kitchen only to stop. "Lydia didn't buy the whole mall did she?"

"No, but that's not from lack of trying," Derek retorted and Stiles chuckled before continuing towards the kitchen.


	5. Chapter 5

"We can definitely say that he is your child," Lydia commented, glancing over at Stiles, when Derek carried a pea covered Gadget into the kitchen.

"Ha, ha," he retorted taking the messy baby when Derek handed him over. Holding him carefully away from him, Stiles carried the baby over to the sink.

"Did you find the correct spell this time?" Derek asked curiously moving to stand next to the talkative teen.

"Yes," Deaton responded closing Stiles' notebook. "It still needs to wear off, but it may take a little longer than two weeks."

"So, I'm going to have to tell to Lopek that I 'lost' my baby. She's going to _love_ that," Stiles stated setting Gadget down on the counter. He reached over with one hand, using the other hand to keep the baby from falling, and snatched the sink stopper from the edge. He stuck it in the drain and turned the water on, testing the temperature with his hand.

"Well, it _is…_"

"I got it, Lyd," Stiles replied pulling his hand from the sink. As it filled, he turned back to Gadget and immediately started stripping him down. The baby put up a fight, squirming, and it took the combined effort of _both_ Derek and Stiles to get him undressed and into the sink.

In protest, Gadget slammed his hand into the water, splashing both boys. He then giggled, clapped happily, and did it again. He amused himself with the water for a few more minutes until Lydia dropped a pale, green duck into the water.

"Look, Gadge, a duck," Stiles said wringing out his shirt.

"Duck," Gadget exclaimed happily, squeezing the duck. It gave a loud 'squeak' and his eyes widened. "Mag! Duck!" The baby entertained himself with the duck, squeezing it. He then tried to drown it before sticking it in his mouth.

As much as he loved the water, Gadget was not a fan of being cleaned, and put up another fight when Stiles tried to wipe his face with a washcloth. "No," the baby protested, splashing everything around him again, but this time in defiant anger. "No! No! No!"

"Ugh," Stiles exclaimed after the fourth time, throwing his hands in the air, "I give up!" He slapped the rag into Derek's hands and moved away from the sink, running a hand through his damp hair.

Derek stepped towards the baby, muttered something to him, and he immediately stopped splashing, allowing Derek to bathe him. Stiles glared at the Alpha, shaking his head. And he really thought he and Gadget were hitting it off. He even called him 'Dada Sty.' He obviously got Sty and Der mixed up.

While Derek dealt with Gadget, Stiles followed Deaton to the door. The vet met his eyes before opening the door and warned, "No more random magic."

"It was an accident," Stiles argued crossing his arms.

"You seem to have a lot of those. Just…" Deaton sighed, running a hand across his head. "Just be more careful next time. Some of those spells are dangerous, Stiles." He then nodded, opened the door, and left, closing the door behind him.

"He's right you know," Lydia said softly, standing directly behind Stiles. "We like having you around, especially tall, dark, and hairy over there." She nodded Derek's way; both teens watching as he gently poured a cup of water over Gadget's head, making sure his hand covered the baby's eyes.

"You light _one_ curtain on fire _one_ time," Stiles muttered, but he understood where Lydia and Deaton were coming from; he really should be more careful with his spell work.

"There was also the purple dog, the self-driving Camaro, and the time you and Derek switched bodies."

"Hey, that one was fun," Stiles defended, glancing Derek's way. "Ain't that right, Der-Der?"

"You're too hyper," Derek complained throwing a grin over his shoulder.

"You're just jealous because I out brooded you when I was you," Stiles argued back returning the grin when Derek tossed a narrowed eyed look his way. "Plus, I could drink like seven cups of…"

"He's clean," Derek announced, cutting Stiles off. The younger boy nodded, racing up the stairs to grab a towel. He ran back down, tossing it at Derek's head. With a grumbled 'thanks,' the Alpha pulled Gadget from the sink and wrapped him in the oversized towel.

"Dada Sty," Gadget announced reaching for Stiles.

"He wants you," Derek stated handing the baby over. "I'm going to go change." The dark-haired man headed up the stairs, already stripping his dark, red shirt. Stiles made a point to watch him go, a goofy smile on his face.

"Does your _father_ know he keeps stuff here?" Lydia asked curiously, a small smirk on her face.

"Please," Stiles responded with a small shake of his head. "Derek leaves stuff everywhere. He's always shedding his clothes."

"I heard that," Derek called from upstairs.

"You were supposed to, Sweetums," Stiles called back in a faux-sickly sweet voice. He grinned at Lydia as she rolled her eyes and then proceeded to carefully dry Gadget off. Once the baby was relatively water free, Lydia dug through one of the bags, pulling out a tiny, gray hoodie and a pair of black jeans.

"Are you trying to turn him into Derek?" Stiles asked eyeing the clothes warily.

"It's a mixture of the both of you," she defended the clothes. "Dark pants for Derek, gray hoodie for you. He's going to look adorable, so don't pretend you don't like these clothes." she then pulled out a small pair of dark blue converse sneakers. "To complete the outfit," Lydia stated when Stiles threw her a questioning look.

She put her hands on her hips and asked, "What? Do you expect him to wear your hand-me-downs the entire time he's here? It seems like your entire wardrobe since birth has been nothing but flannels. I mean, seriously, who owns that much plaid?"

"The Winchesters," Stiles muttered but still snatched the clothes from Lydia. "You're a nightmare you know that? A bossy, controlling nightmare."

"Aw, Stiles, I love you, too," Lydia said with a grin, giving him a kiss on the cheek. She then checked her phone, her eyes widening. "I have to go and meet Jackson." She pointed at Gadget, "Take care of your daddies while I'm gone. They need all the help they can get." To Stiles' surprise, the baby actually nodded, smiling Lydia's way.

She then waved, yelled up the stairs to Derek, and rushed towards the door, grabbing her purse on the way. As she opened the front door, she froze, eyes widening at the sight of Peter Hale standing on Stiles' doorstep.

* * *

**Let's face it, next to Deaton and The Sheriff, Peter is my favorite character (not to mention my absolute favorite villain), he was going to make an appearance sooner or later.**

**So, thanks to all who reviewed, alerted, and favorited last chapter. They were appreciated.**

**Anyway, thanks for reading, anyone associated with Teen Wolf is not mine, and leave me a comment if you can.**

**Bye!**


	6. Chapter 6

**This chapter doesn't end in a cliffhanger. I am so proud of myself :)**

**So, thanks for the reviews, alerts, and favorites last chapter. I will probably have the next chapter up in a few days (my goal is to have this story done before the new season starts), but we'll see what happens.**

**So, thanks for reading, drop me a comment if you can, and everything associated with Teen Wolf is not mine.**

**See ya!**

* * *

"Okay, who left your cage door unlocked," Stiles commented shifting his body to block Gadget from the older werewolf, very much aware of Lydia taking an involuntary step towards him. "I thought I told Derek to put _two_ padlocks on it."

"Cute," Peter replied with a smirk. "I live for your never-ending wit. Have you seen my nephew?"

"Of course I've seen him. We're dating." Stiles threw the older man a 'duh' look and received an eye roll in return. "Is he ignoring your phone calls again?"

"I sometimes wonder if…" Peter trailed off, his blue eyes settling on Gadget. The baby had peeked around Stiles' shoulder, his dark eyes warily watching the older werewolf. "Who in their right mind trusted you with a baby?"

"Hey, I am far more trustworthy than you. Besides, he doesn't concern you."

Peter opened his mouth to respond, but Derek's voice cut him off. "I thought if I left my phone at home you'd get the hint and leave me alone."

"If you're trying to avoid me, nephew, perhaps you shouldn't hang out at your boyfriend's house," Peter retorted with a smirk, meeting Derek's glare head on. "Now," his blue eyes snapped back to Stiles, "why do you have a baby?"

"Don't worry about him," Derek snapped walking down the stairs. "What do you want?"

"I need to talk to you." The older wolf gave Stiles one, last smirk before returning his attention to Derek. With a sigh, the younger wolf grabbed Peter's arm and pulled him outside.

"Nice seeing you again, Lydia," Peter greeted with a wily smile. She gave him a disgusted look and slammed the door in his face.

"Ugh, I can't stand him." Lydia shuddered, pulling her jacket tighter around her shoulders. "He's never going to stop being creepy."

"Or psychotic," Stiles muttered returning to the task of getting Gadget dressed. "I wonder what he wanted."

"Who cares?" Lydia checked her phone again. "Can I use your back door? I'd like to avoid Peter as much as possible."

"Sure," Stiles responded nodding, his eyes on Gadget. "Call me later."

"I will."

After Lydia left, Stiles began talking to Gadget. "That man, the one who thinks he's clever, is Peter. We're still not sure how to feel about him, but he's kinda a psycho. Okay, there's no 'kinda' about it."

"'co?"

"Yep, a huge psycho; with his track record you'd think he'd be in jail, but I'm sure he'd just find a way out." He finished up dressing Gadget, carrying him into the living room. "But Mr. Psycho is not going near you. I can promise you that."

"No Pete."

"Right, no Pete," Stiles replied nodding. "Besides, Daddy Derek would probably rip his face off if he tried to come near you. I'd say the same about me, but I have a feeling Uncle Peter would just rip my face off first. Then Daddy Derek would rip his face off. It'd just be a mess of missing faces and blood and screaming. So I vote that we avoid that."

"Yes." Gadget agreed nodding.

"Great." Reaching for the remote, Stiles flipped the television on, turning the channel until he found some cartoons. "Here, let's watch some mind numbing cartoons and hope to God Teletubbies doesn't come on again. I may have to rip my face off it that happens."

"No!" Gadget protested shaking his head, his tiny hand settling on Stiles' face.

"No? You like my face? Well, lucky for you I like you face, too. We'll keep it, okay."

"Okay."

**TW**

"What do you want?" Derek asked the moment the door shut behind Peter and him.

"Can't I stop by to see my only nephew?" Peter retorted curiously.

"What do you want?" Derek repeated slower, an audible growl in his voice.

"Why do you always assume I _want_ something?"

"Peter," Derek snarled the last shred of patience he had.

The older wolf raised his hands. "Alright, you don't need to rip my throat out… again." He smirked at his own joke and said, "I will be out-of-town for the next three days."

"Where are you going?" Derek questioned suspiciously.

"Are you afraid I am planning something?"

"You are _always _planning something."

"True," Peter replied with a shrug. "But this time I am merely going to Los Angeles to get away from-" he gestured around the immediate area, "-this. It's been a hectic few days and I need me time."

"Me time? _You_ need me time? The last time you had 'you time' you killed a half-dozen people and possessed a teenage girl. How much more 'me time' to you need?"

"I am hurt that you'd bring up my shady past, Derek," Peter said softly, putting a hand over his heart. "Have I not proven myself loyal to you? I helped save you when that hunter took you. I could have just let you rot."

"According to Stiles you helped for your own well-being," Derek deadpanned, cocking his head, crossing his arms.

"The same difference," Peter replied shrugging. "I'm leaving whether you like it or not, but you were adamant about me telling you if I had any plans. If I'm not mistaken, I'd say you didn't trust me."

"You're a sharp one," Derek murmured sarcastically. Peter merely smirked and stepped off the porch. Halfway down the walk, he turned and asked, "Are we really going to ignore the baby inside?"

"Don't kill anyone, Peter," Derek responded and headed back inside, closing the door on his uncle's amused face. Sometimes he pictured just pushing Peter off a cliff and watching him fall. It had to be better than putting up with him on a daily basis.

"Hey, Der, check this out," Stiles called from the living room. Turning on his heel, Derek headed into the living room, stopping in the entryway. Stiles was helping Gadget balance on two wobbly legs, standing a few feet from the coffee table.

Letting the baby go, the younger boy backed up a step. Derek very nearly rushed forward when Gadget began to sway, but he froze when the baby slowly started walking towards him. With a small smile, he crouched down to scoop the baby up when he was in reaching distance. Even Peter's presence couldn't bother him at that particular moment.

"I thought that'd cheer you up," Stiles commented kissing his forehead. "I am an amazing boyfriend." He then headed into the kitchen, calling over his shoulder, "What did Peter want? Is he finally leaving town? Can we throw a party? I'm sure Lydia would help plan it after she shoved her size six boot up his ass."

"Ass," Gadget parroted clapping his hands. "Ass, ass, ass."

"I think we should invest in a swear jar," Derek commented following Stiles.

"Oh, come on Der, he's going to learn those words anyway. Have you seen what's on television these days?" Stiles was rooting around in the cabinets, looking for something, his back to Derek. Gadget struggled in the Alpha's arms, reaching for the floor.

"Down," he whined struggling harder. Derek put him down, watching as he wobbled towards a stuffed wolf sitting on the floor. "Dada Der," Gadget announced happily and proceeded to chew on the ear.

"Aw, look Der, he recognizes you," Stiles teased grinning, pulling a box of fruit snacks from the cabinet near the stove. "Do you want one?" he offered and Derek shook his head. "Suit yourself."

Replacing the box, Stiles leaned against the counter and opened his snack. "Maybe we should go to the park or something. I don't feel like watching anymore cartoons."

"You don't want to watch cartoons?" Derek asked lightly, pressing a hand to Stiles' forehead. "Are you feeling alright?"

"Sometimes I wonder if you just find excuses to touch me." Stiles tried his hand at a flirty smile, but it came out more goofy.

"Like I need an excuse," Derek flirted back, taking a step towards the younger boy.

"I am very touchable." Their lips barely met before something soft smacked into Derek's head, breaking the two apart. They looked down to see Gadget standing next to them, fingers in his mouth, his stuffed wolf sitting by their feet.

"Did you throw that?" Stiles asked scooping the baby up. He tickled him, earning himself a squeal of laughter. Derek pulled out his phone, snapping a picture. He figured Lydia would appreciate it, or that's what he'd tell Stiles if he said anything.


	7. Chapter 7

**This is why I don't make long term goals. I said I wanted this story done before the new episodes start, this story is not going to be done before the new episodes start. Alas, I am a failure.**

**Anyway, sorry for the lateness of this chapter. I was a little unsure where to take this, but I'm seventy-five percent sure I've figured it out.**

**So, thanks for the reviews, alerts, and favorites last chapter. Thanks for reading, drop me a comment if you can, and I'll see you in the next chapter.**

**Everyone, with the exception of Gadget (and any other OC's I may mention), are not mine.**

* * *

Stiles didn't like the look of that baby over by the swings. There was something shifty about her, almost as if she was just waiting to lead Gadget astray with her evil baby schemes. He wasn't sure if it was her cherub face, her blonde pigtails, or the bright green Dora shirt she was wearing, but there was definitely something off about that baby.

"Why are you glaring at that little girl?" Derek asked curiously, his voice breaking into Stiles' train of thought.

"There's something off about her," Stiles replied slowly, still watching the girl. "I can feel it."

"Like with your neighbor's cat?"

"Hey," Stiles exclaimed, turning to point at Derek, "Mrs. Sparkles is out to get me. I can see it in her evil, yellow eyes. She has plans."

"Plans?"

"Yes, plans; evil, kitty plans that involve eating my face."

Derek gave him an incredulous look, shaking his head. "Sometimes I worry about you."

"We're not taking Gadget over there," Stiles stated, ignoring the Alpha, taking the baby from Derek and carrying him towards one of those spring riders. There were different shapes: a space ship, a race car, and a pirate ship. A three-year-old rode on the pirate ship, laughing as his mother gently rocked him back and forth.

Stiles turned to the race car, but when he tried to lower Gadget on it the baby squirmed, whining, "No! No!"

"Do you want the space ship?" Stiles asked struggling to keep a hold of Gadget.

"No! There." The baby pointed at the swings, at the evil blonde child.

"He wants to swing," Derek said taking Gadget from Stiles. "You can stay over here if you want. We're swinging."

"This is how Anakin became evil," Stiles called after Derek.

"Really?" the Alpha retorted over his shoulder.

"Well, no," the younger boy admitted, jogging to keep up with the older boy, "but I'm sure someone went evil because of exposure to demon babies."

"That girl is not a demon baby," Derek reassured Stiles. "She's a perfectly normal child."

"Until she rips our heads off," Stiles muttered but relented and allowed Derek to put Gadget in one of the swings. For a while, the older of the two boys lightly pushed the baby back and forth, listening to his squeals of laughter.

Eventually, the swing became too boring for Gadget, so Derek took him out and, much to Stiles' dismay, sat him in the sandbox, right next to the devil child, whose father had moved her a few minutes earlier. The Alpha then proceeded to grab Stiles' hand and pull him away from the sandbox, depositing him on a nearby bench.

"He's fine," Derek stated griping Stiles' hand tight, keeping him on the bench.

"But what happens if…?"

"He's fine," the Alpha repeated, cutting Stiles off mid-sentence.

And for a while Gadget was fine. He played silently in the sand, mostly throwing and eating it, and Stiles almost decided that Derek was right; the little girl wasn't Lucifer's spawn. Until the little demon grabbed a bucket full of sand and proceeded to dump it over Gadget's head.

"Devil child," Stiles announced wrenching his hand free from Derek's and jumping to his feet. He moved forward, fighting the urge to turn the girl into a toad (he'd figure out how), intending to get Gadget away from that little… person, but stopped in his tracks when the bucket wrenched itself from her hands and deposited itself on her head.

Eyes wide, wondering if he did accidental magic again, Stiles scooped Gadget up and carried him away from the little girl, very much aware of her screams and her father saying, "Megan, what happened," as he ran towards his daughter. They probably weren't going to go to the park for a while.

**TW**

"I told you she was evil," Stiles said a while later, watching as Derek gave Gadget his second bath of the day. The alpha merely rolled his eyes, but didn't say anything. "But nobody bothers to listen to Stiles."

"Are you sure you didn't dump that bucket on her head?" Derek asked suddenly, interrupting Stiles' tirade.

"Hey, I may not have liked that girl, but I'm not going to start dumping buckets on children's heads. I'm not four." Stiles continued to mutter darkly under his breath, Derek catching the odd phrase here and there: like 'evil blonde children' and 'terrible parenting.'

Derek left the younger boy to his mumbling, his eyes falling on Gadget again. The baby was chewing on his green duck, his dark hair falling in his eyes. For a split second, Derek was certain the baby's brown eyes flashed white, but it had to be a trick of the light. There was no way Gadget had magic.

Though, he was a baby made from magic. Who really knew what skills he had? He was already intelligent and seemed to be aging rapidly. Why couldn't he have a little magic, too? Then again, Stiles could be lying and had actually dumped that bucket on that little girl's head. But that'd be too immature, even for Stiles. And it wouldn't explain why his heartbeat had been steady when Derek asked; unless he didn't _know_ he did it.

Deciding to dwell on it later, Derek pulled Gadget from the sink and wrapped him in the towel Stiles offered him. Once he was dried and changed, Derek handed the baby off to Stiles and decided to call it a night.

"It's barely three-thirty," Stiles said glancing at his watch.

"I know, but I have some pack stuff to take care of," Derek replied slowly giving the younger boy a quick kiss before donning his jacket.

"You mean you need to find out what Peter is up to," Stiles stated and Derek smiled softly, nodding his head.

"I'll be back tonight. Keep your window unlocked." He offered up another, even quicker kiss, snorting when Stiles said, "We're not a Motel 6, Der."

"Isn't that 'we'll leave the light on for you?'" Derek asked curiously.

"Same difference."

"Bye," Gadget said sleepily, waving his tiny hand.

"See you later," Derek responded waving at the baby, shutting the front door behind him. He moved towards his car, hating that he had lied to Stiles. Yes, he would eventually have to figure out what Peter was up to, but first he had another stop to make.

**TW**

Deaton and Scott were just locking up the vet's office when Derek pulled up. He offered Scott a nod as he got out of his car, moving across the parking lot to Deaton's side. As Scott carried his stuff to his bike, Derek beckoned for the vet, silently asking him if they could go back inside.

"Night Scott," Deaton called after the teen before unlocking the door and leading Derek back inside. "What can I do for you?" he asked, genuinely curious, also a little worried, no doubt wondering if Stiles' spell had finally backfired worse than it already had.

Derek was quiet for a moment, thinking over his words, but finally he recapped the park incident. When he finished, Deaton was standing by the door, arms crossed, a pensive look on his face while Derek leaned against the exam table, hands buried in his pockets.

"Do you think it's possible he has some magical ability?"

"It's possible," Deaton admitted though he sounded a tad skeptical. "Are you sure Stiles didn't do it?"

"He says he didn't," Derek replied running a hand through his hair. "And his heart beat was steady, so he's telling the truth."

"I can look into it, see what I can find, but if Gadget does have some type of magical ability it would stem from his creation."

"Thanks," Derek stated and the vet nodded. The Alpha then waved and slowly walking out of the building, nearly running into Scott.

"Who's Gadget?" the beta asked curiously, crossing his arms.

"I thought you were going home," Derek replied evasively.

"Forgot something," Scott responded with a defiant tilt of his head. "Who's Gadget?"

It was one of those times where Derek could either lie, flat-out refuse to say anything, or just come clean. He knew the first one wouldn't work, Scott could tell he was lying. The second one would just result in the beta possibly following Derek and figuring it out on his own, especially since Deaton mentioned Stiles' name. So, the only option was the third.

Unless, Derek wanted to push Scott into the bags of dog food sitting against the back wall, but again pushing someone was quite childish so he dismissed the thought. He also wondered where his sudden obsession with pushing people down came from. It had to be from all the cartoons Stiles made him watch.

"I'll show you," Derek replied softly and nodded towards his car. The Alpha had a feeling it was going to be a long, long night.


	8. Chapter 8

**I have foregone writing any spoilers in here. Some stuff has happened in the past two episodes and I don't want to ruin it for those who haven't seen it yet. Plus, this was written before the new season, so I guess it's in AU territory. Just a quick warning. And for those who have seen the new episodes can you believe what happened?**

**Anyway, thanks for the reviews, alerts, and favorites last chapter. I do not own anyone or anything remotely Teen Wolf related (Davis that's all you), thanks for reading, and drop me a comment if you can.**

**See ya!**

* * *

Stiles had just put Gadget down for a nap when he heard a knock at his door. Knowing it couldn't be Derek, not when he'd only been gone a half an hour, he wondered who would be knock, knock, knocking at his front door.

Berating himself for the sudden Poe reference, he hadn't even looked at the poem since freshman year, Stiles maneuvered across the floor and towards the door. He opened it, taking a step back when he spotted Isaac and Danny standing in the doorway with Erica and Boyd hovering in the background.

"Did somebody die?" Stiles asked slowly, eyeing both boys warily.

"No," Danny replied cocking an eyebrow.

"Was anyone maimed?" the small group shook their heads. "Tortured?"

"No," Isaac repeated giving Stiles a cautious look.

"Then why are you here? Are you looking for Derek? He's not here."

"We know," Erica stated pushing past Danny and Isaac to the front of the group. "We think Derek is avoiding us, but we aren't sure. He hasn't been around the past few days, so we were wondering…" She gave Stiles a suggestive smile and he felt his jaw drop.

"Oh my God, you came over here to ask if we were having sex?" his voice woke Gadget and the baby immediately started crying. With a frustrated sigh, he threw his hands in the air and stalked away from the wolves and Danny, calling over his shoulder, "You might as well come inside."

"Who in their right mind gave you a baby?" Erica asked with one raised eyebrow, watching as Stiles tried to calm Gadget down.

"Why does everyone keep asking me that?" Stiles retorted, feeling a rush or hurt and annoyance roll through him. He had taken care of Gadget for over twenty-four hours, both as a doll and a real child, and nothing bad had happened to him; unless he counted the bucket incident, but he was not going to think about that again. Why were his dad and Derek the only two who seemed to have any faith in his parenting abilities?

"Where did you get him?" Isaac asked curiously, moving forward to study the baby. Gadget immediately stopped crying, his big brown eyes settling on the curly-haired werewolf. "Is this…? Isaac's eyes widened and he whispered, "This is what you called Derek about yesterday."

"Yes," Stiles replied nodding.

"Did you do random magic again?" Erica and Danny gave Stiles a disapproving look, the latter crossing his arms while Boyd lingered in the background, watching the scene through curious eyes.

Stiles merely sighed, relinquishing Gadget when he reached for Isaac. The young werewolf fumbled with the baby, unsure how to hold him, and surprisingly Boyd stepped forward to help him. Noticing the array of expressions trained on him, the dark werewolf shrugged and said, "My sister has three kids."

"Good to know," Stiles muttered under his breath. It bummed the teen out that everyone seemed to be better with kids than him, but he was learning so he didn't let it get to him too much. It really had only been twenty-four hours; he could get better.

"So, where did he come from?" Danny questioned curiously, watching as Gadget touched Isaac's nose.

"I made him," Stiles replied evasively, looking anywhere but at the wolves.

"I'm going to assume you used magic because your virgin ass didn't impregnate anyone," Erica teased, but Stiles could still see the disapproval in her brown eyes.

"You _do_ remember what…"

"Oh my God, if you mention Deaton I will sic Derek on you. I swear to God," Stiles snapped, cutting Danny off, glaring at his friend. "And that goes for all of you." He pointed at each beta, trying to hold a smirk at bay when Gadget started bouncing in Isaac's arms and saying, "Dada Der! Sic!"

"Dada Der? That is so…"

"Don't finish that," Derek snarled from the still open door, cutting Erica off. She turned, grinning at him, but refrained from saying anything. He walked inside, Scott following him, and said, "I see we're telling everyone about Gadget."

"Hey, they just showed up," Stiles responded gesturing to the betas and Danny. "And then…" he trailed off, his face burning in embarrassment. "Never mind. Long story, short I woke Gadget up, they saw him, and now they know. Besides," he pointed at Scott, "I see I'm not the only one telling people."

"He overheard me," Derek muttered his eyes going heavenward.

"Well, let's introduce him then. Guys, that's Gadget. He's a school project that I managed to turn real. Don't cuss around him, he's a sponge, and there's a good chance he'll age by tomorrow. Gadget, say hi to everyone."

"No," the baby said putting his fingers in his mouth, resting his head on Isaac's shoulder. He closed his eyes, much to Isaac's surprise, and proceeded to snore softly, drooling on the teen's shirt.

It was quiet for a moment, but the silence broke when Scott said, "Dude, you are totally going to fail the class."

**TW**

It came as no surprise to Stiles when he woke up the next morning to a jumping on his bed. He peeled an eye open, watching through blurry vision as a little figure bounced near his head. He sat up just as the figure said, "Get up! I'm hungry!"

"What?" he said hoarsely, watching as Gadget came into view. The little boy was older, around three or four now, and his likeliness to Derek was very clear now. Except those caramel eyes; Stiles knew those eyes anywhere.

"I'm hungry, Daddy Stiles," Gadget repeated jumping off the bed. He grabbed Stiles' hand and proceeded to try to pull him out of bed. "Please, I'm hungry."

"Where's my dad?" Stiles asked grumpily, kicking his covers off him. "And who dressed you?" He took in the little boys outfit. He wore a pair of black jeans and his green t-shirt was backwards. His shoes were on the wrong feet and untied, and he seemed to be missing socks.

"I did," Gadget said proudly, dropping Stiles' hand to spread his arms out to his sides. "And Grandpa left for work forever ago. He even left a note, but I can't reach it."

"Then let's go get you something to eat," Stiles responded with a sigh, getting out of bed. Together, they headed out of Stiles' room and down the stairs, Gadget talking the entire way. The kitchen looked as if a tornado had swept through the room, all of Lydia's purchases scattered across the floor during Gadget's search to get dressed.

"I see you've redecorated," Stiles stated sarcastically, heading towards the fridge. He glanced at his father's note, taking notice that he'd be back by dinner that tonight. There was also a 'Good Luck' at the bottom meaning his father, no doubt, noticed Gadget had aged again. Sometimes his father had a cruel sense of humor.

"Yup," Gadget replied nodding his head, Stiles' sarcasm seeming to go over his head. "Can I have cereal?"

"Cereal, huh? Just yesterday you were eating food from a jar and now you want cereal. When did my life become so weird?" Not expecting an answer, Stiles dragged the milk from the fridge and closed the door. He stepped over the leather jacket Lydia got him, opening one of the cabinets for a bowl.

"Is Daddy Derek coming over today?" Gadget asked curiously, standing really close to Stiles and looking up at him.

"Probably," Stiles answered nodding. "He's over here every day."

"What about the boy from yesterday? Isaac? Will _he_ be here?"

"I don't know."

"What about Auntie Lydia?"

That was new. Stiles didn't remember ever using the term 'Auntie Lydia' at all yesterday. Maybe she used it while she and Derek were shopping yesterday, but Stiles didn't peg Lydia as someone who called herself 'Auntie.' The kid was learning stuff at a far quicker pace than a doll turned human (let alone someone his age) should, and Stiles wasn't afraid to admit it terrified him just a bit.

"I don't know," he repeated dragging a box of Cheerios down from another cabinet. "Why don't you go sit down and I'll bring you your cereal."

"Can't I pour it?" Gadget gave Stiles a pouty look, one he'd been accused of making (he totally did not), and sweetly said, "Please?"

"You'll spill it," Stiles stated and proceeded to pour the cereal himself. "Maybe later."

"Like tomorrow?"

"Well, at the rate you're going, you'll be a teenager by Tuesday, so maybe by then," Stiles replied adding milk to the bowl.

"Why?"

"Because I accidentally created you by magic."

"Why?"

"Because you were crying and I couldn't handle it anymore. You were being very, very annoying." Should he be sharing all this with Gadget, probably not, but it was six-thirty and he was tired, so if it scarred the kid for what little life he had then Stiles would take full responsibility.

"Why?"

"Just eat your breakfast," Stiles grumbled carrying the bowl into the dining room. He set it on the table, gestured for the boy to take a seat, and then proceeded to try and clean up the trail of clothes Gadget left scattered everywhere.

Stiles had only just started when Gadget appeared in the kitchen. "I don't like it," he said gesturing towards the dining room. "Do you have anything else?"

"Like what?"

"Sugar?" Gadget's eyes widened at the suggestion, a grin spreading across his face.

"No," Stiles immediately said, shaking his head. "Go eat your Cheerios."

"But they taste bad," Gadget whined wriggling his whole body in a near perfect imitation of Stiles. "I want something with sugar. Like that commercial from yesterday, remember? The ones with the marshmallows. Those looked good."

"No," Stiles repeated with a sigh, shaking his head. He was already tired of this older Gadget. Could he go back to being a baby again?

"Why?"

Stiles sighed again, running his hands down his face. This was going to be a very, very long day.

**TW**

Before Derek could knock on the door, it flew open to reveal a very disheveled looking Stiles still wearing his pajamas, holding a stuffed wolf in one hand and a half eaten granola bar in the other. Behind him, Derek could see a mess of clothes and toys and could hear a little voice talking a mile a minute. He glanced down to see a newly aged Gadget standing next to Stiles' legs.

"…and remember when the purple one tripped…" the little boy trailed off when he spotted who was at the door and he exclaimed, "You came! Daddy Stiles said you would, and I've been waiting forever for you." He launched himself at Derek, clutching tightly to the older boy's leg. He broke his hug a few seconds later and grabbed Derek's hand, trying to pull him inside. "Come on!"

"Who threw the party?" Derek tried teasing Stiles, but the younger boy merely glared at him as he shoved the toy wolf in his free hand.

"Can you watch him for a few minutes? I need to shower and change."

"Yeah," Derek responded nodding his head. Relief flashed across Stiles' face and the Alpha was rewarded with a quick kiss before the younger boy bounded up the stairs and out of sight.

"Will he be back?" Gadget asked sound a little worried, his brown eyes anxiously watching the stairs.

"He'll be back," Derek reassured the kid, closing the door behind him.

"Promise?"

"I promise."

"Good," Gadget stated grinning. "Come on!" He once again tried to drag Derek through the house, but he growled in frustration when the Alpha wouldn't budge. "Come on Daddy Derek." With a small smile, Derek started walking with the kid. "Hey," Gadget said suddenly, steering the Alpha towards the dining room, "want some Cheerios?"

By the time Stiles returned, looking ten times better, Derek had helped Gadget fix his clothes, made sure he was fed, and dug out some colored pencils and paper, from one of the drawers, to keep the kid preoccupied so he could clean the kitchen up.

"He's being quiet," Stiles said softly, running a hand through his damp hair causing it to stick up. "Why is he being quiet? Did you lock him in the closet?" His face was torn between worry and grateful, with just a smidgeon of guilt in his eyes.

"He's in there," Derek replied nodding towards the living room. Stiles peeked into the room, noticed the kid kneeling next to the coffee table doodling on some papers, and nodded once.

"Why didn't I think of that?" he asked, clearly annoyed at himself, and glared at the small smirk on Derek's face. He then sighed, leaning his head back. "I swear I don't know anyone who talks _that_ much."

Derek barely held a snort at bay, recalling some of the times Stiles had gone on a tangent about something. He could be a motor mouth, too, and it didn't help matters when he took far too much Adderall. Sometimes Derek wished he wouldn't take so much medication; it messed with the younger boy's natural scent.

"I'm done!" Gadget announced walking into the kitchen. He brandished his drawing at Stiles and said, "It's for you, Daddy Stiles."

"What is it?" To Derek, and most definitely to Stiles, it looked like a bunch of scribbles, but Gadget seemed proud of it.

"It's us," the boy replied gesturing to the picture. "Me, you, Daddy Derek, and our pack. See?" He beckoned for Stiles to crouch down to his level. When the older boy complied, Gadget proceeded to explain which scribble was which. When he finished he asked, "Can we hang it up?"

Stiles nodded and Gadget raced towards the fridge, pointing to a spot in the middle of the door. "Right here, please."

"At least he says please," Derek commented holding back another smirk.

"Among other things," Stiles retorted hanging the picture up. Stiles' phone suddenly rang and Gadget raced into the living room to get it, beating the older boys to the phone. Derek heard him answer before loudly saying, "Daddy Stiles, it's Erica!"

"Maybe she's calling to offer to babysit," Stiles stated hopefully, heading towards Gadget. He took the phone, putting it to his ear, and proceeded to nod a few times as Erica said something about needing help on her English paper.

When Stiles hung up, he turned to Derek and asked, "Do you mind…?"

"…taking him for the day?" Derek finished and nodded. It was the least he could do, and it's not like Stiles hadn't been taking care of Gadget for the past few days. Derek had no problem taking care of Gadget for the day just as long as Stiles actually came back to get him. This was still his project, he still needed to do the work, no matter how hard it may seem.

**TW**

Derek let Gadget into his apartment, watching as the small boy immediately began exploring his surroundings. He found the bed in a matter of minutes and proceeded to clamber on it and jump up and down.

"Don't jump too high," Derek warned Gadget, dropping his bag off by the door and closing it behind him. The last thing he needed was the kid to fall off and break something.

"Can we play something?" Gadget asked still jumping.

"What do you want to play?" Derek asked curiously, his eyes tracking the kid's movement.

"Um…" before the kid could reply, Derek's phone buzzed against his leg. He pulled it from his pocket, rolling his eyes when he saw who was calling. With a sigh, he answered, "What did you do now?"

"_Just checking in, Derek,"_ Peter said smoothly. Had it not been for the slight hitch of his heartbeat, or that he was a lying sociopath, Derek would have almost believed him. The younger man made a skeptical sound in the back of his throat and Peter sighed and relented, "_Fine, I may have run into some trouble."_

"And what do you want me to do about it?"

_"Help me for starters."_

"And why would I help you?" Last family member or not, Peter hadn't ever given Derek a reason to trust him, and how did the younger werewolf know this wasn't some type of trap set up so he could do away with Derek. It wouldn't be the first time.

"_You either help me now, while it's in LA, or I just bring it back and see how many of your pack it can dispose of. Do you think it'll start with Stiles?_" Derek snarled at his uncle, very much aware of Gadget halting mid-jump, landing heavily on his butt and eyeing the Alpha worriedly. "_Now, now Derek, mind your blood pressure. It'll be a few hours, tops, and your pet will be safe."_

"If anything happens to him…"

_"Then come help me. That's all I am asking."_

Derek was quiet for a moment, his pale eyes settling on Gadget's brown ones. They were so much like Stiles' eyes, and any thought of harm coming to Gadget, Stiles, or his pack for that matter left a pit in Derek's stomach.

"Fine," he murmured with a sigh, somehow hating his uncle even more than he already did. "I'll be there in a few hours." He then hung up, shoving his phone back in his pocket. He took a few deep breaths before turning to Gadget.

"How would you feel about spending the day with Isaac?"

* * *

**Danny knows about the wolves in this. I like shipping him with Isaac, don't even know why but I do, so I figured Isaac probably told him or maybe Jackson (since they are best friends). I have debated whether or not to write a Isaac/Danny story, but I don't know if anyone would read it.**

**So, yeah, last note I promise.**

**Bye!**


	9. Chapter 9

**Uh, hey. I really don't have any good author's notes, so I'll just say thanks for reviewing, alerting, and favoriting last chapter.**

**Please leave me a comment if you can, I don't own what isn't mine, and I'll try to update as soon as I can.**

**See ya!**

* * *

"Can't you just let him die? For me?" Stiles partially whined, partially asked as he pulled into the McCalls' driveway.

"_I would if I could,"_ Derek started with a sigh, sounding far more tired than he had that morning, "_but…"_

"Please, Der, don't tell me he threatened the pack again. Peter would threaten the pack if he had a hangnail. And I swear on Erica's new wonder bra, if you are doing this because he threatened me I will kick your ass."

"_Why are you looking at Erica's wonder bra?" _Derek attempted to distract Stiles, but a tired sigh brought him back on topic. "_I'm not going to do anything stupid, Stiles. Besides, Peter probably just ran into another pack or got arrested. Don't worry about it."_ Stiles would have been perfectly fine _not_ worrying if Derek's tone sounded more convincing or if Peter had a better track record with pack members; especially his own nephew. "_And how, exactly, are you going to 'kick my ass.'"_ He was trying to be amusing again but failing miserably.

"Oh, I'll find a way," Stiles promised softly. He then cleared his throat, talking a bit louder, "Look, if this was anyone else, I'd say 'go help the kids. Bring back milk.' But this isn't anyone else. This is Peter. He has done nothing to warrant your trust, not a damn thing, and the 'nice' stuff he has _done_ he did for his own personal gain. Don't let him drag you to the dark side, Der. I'm telling you, the cookies are not as good as they want you to believe."

"_Stiles…_" Derek started in his 'I know, but I have to help him because he threatened people I care about' voice; sometimes Stiles hated being in a relationship with someone so damn self-sacrificing and over protective.

"Fine," Stiles relented with a sigh, "bring back milk." He tried joking, albeit weakly. "Just be careful and don't die because I will…"

"_Kick my ass?"_

"Yup; straight to the moon."

"_Alright Gleason_," Derek jested softly, a smile in his voice. "_Love you_."

"Love you, too," Stiles responded quietly and both hung up.

For a while, Stiles just sat in his jeep, staring at his phone. He couldn't shake the feeling that something bad was going to happen. It was Derek, and as much as he loved the guy, the alpha had the tendency to attract trouble. Derek would tell Stiles that it was the other way around, but Stiles was proud to say he generally went out seeking trouble and didn't sit around waiting for trouble to find him.

He very nearly almost called Derek back, wanting nothing more to plead, beg, blackmail him into not going after Peter, but Stiles refrained, reminding himself that he always got that feeling when it came to Peter. And as much as he trusted his gut, Peter would always hold a special, foreboding place in his 'spidey senses.' Of course, it wouldn't stop him from worrying.

With a sigh, he stashed his phone in his pocket, turned his jeep off, and got out. He pulled the keys from the ignition, shoved them in the same pocket as his phone, and trudged towards the McCalls' front door.

Composing himself with several deep, calming breaths, Stiles grabbed the doorknob and walked inside. The first thing he heard was Gadget saying, "I win again! Isaac, you're really, really bad at this game."

"That's because I'm letting you win," Isaac teased back, a smile in his voice.

"Nu-huh, you stopped letting me win forever ago," Gadget shot back smugly, for a moment reminding Stiles of Derek. "Wanna play again?"

"No, Stiles is here," Isaac replied softly and Stiles heard Gadget gasp before tiny feet raced towards him, a black and gray blur slamming into his legs.

"I missed you," Gadget exclaimed breaking the hug but still clinging to Stiles' leg. Isaac appeared from the living room, leaning against the entryway, crossing his arms, a smile on his face. Behind him, Stiles could see an old, beaten up chessboard.

"Chess?" He lifted his eyebrows, nodding at the board.

"He's too smart for _Candy Land_, said _Chutes and Ladders_ was boring, and complained that _Life_ wasn't 'challenging' enough," Isaac replied a little sheepishly. "I figured Chess would be challenging for him, but after three games he sorta picked it up."

"Isaac is bad, Daddy Stiles," Gadget announced resting his head against Stiles' knee. "He said bad words every time he lost."

"So does your Daddy Derek when he plays video games," Stiles commented softly and Isaac smirked. "Thanks for watching him," Stiles continued, returning his attention to Isaac. "I hope he didn't break anything." Nervously, Stiles glanced around the McCalls' house, but he didn't find anything out-of-place.

"Derek told him to be good," Isaac stated with a noncommittal shrug. "He was no trouble actually."

"Of course he did."

After Stiles collected Gadget's stuff, he ushered the small boy out of Scott's house and back towards his jeep, Isaac following him out, locking the door behind him. "Want a ride?" he asked curiously, gesturing to his jeep, but the curly-haired boy shook his head, gesturing to Danny's approaching vehicle.

"Ah." Stiles nodded, giving Isaac and wave, and placed Gadget in the back of his jeep. Once the kid was strapped in, he tossed Gadget's stuff in the back and slid behind the wheel. Gadget waved enthusiastically at Isaac and Danny until they disappeared around the corner, he then turned to Stiles and said, "I'm hungry."

"You're always hungry," Stiles retorted starting his jeep.

"So are you," Gadget shot back, grinning when Stiles threw him a look. "Please," the boy begged, pouting, "can we stop somewhere?"

"I don't know," Stiles started in a faux-exasperated voice. "I was thinking about ice cream, but I didn't think you'd want any."

"I would_ love_ ice cream," Gadget exclaimed with wide, excited eyes. "Please. Please. Pleeease!"

"Okay," Stiles relented with an over-exaggerated sigh, fighting a smile. "We'll get ice cream."

"Yes!" Gadget clapped his hands, doing a weird, flailing move that reminded Stiles of himself.

_Maybe Lopek was right_, Stiles thought putting his jeep in reverse, _maybe I did have a little me_ _with just a dash of Derek. _With a snort, he backed out of the McCalls' driveway.

**TW**

Gadget fell asleep halfway through eating his ice cream, dropping the cone down Stiles' shirt. It took its sweet ass time falling to the ground where it landed, ice cream side down, on the dirt. The small boys' head drooped against Stiles' shoulder, chocolate from his mouth smearing across the already soiled t-shirt.

"Figures," Stiles muttered dropping his cone in a nearby trashcan. He returned to Gadget's downed ice cream, carefully bent down to pick it up, and tossed it in the trash with the other. Wiping his free hand on his jeans, he headed back towards his jeep.

The ride home was quiet, and Stiles reveled in the silence. Gadget had taken it upon himself to recap his entire day with Isaac, in detail, starting with them playing tag outside to Isaac panicking during hide and seek when he couldn't find Gadget only to find him in Scott's shower finally ending in board games and a special promise from Stiles that they would play chess later. Stiles wasn't even sure he owned a chess set, but he figured it couldn't be hard to borrow one from someone.

By the time Stiles pulled into his driveway, it was one-thirty and his father's cruiser was sitting in its usual spot. Stiles figured it wasn't very parental to leave Gadget in the car while he carried his stuff inside, so he dragged the little boy from the jeep first.

Carrying him towards the house, his cell phone went off, but before he could get to it, his phone abruptly stopped ringing. Figuring it wasn't important Stiles struggled with the door, managing to get it open without dropping Gadget.

"Stiles, you home?" his dad called from the kitchen. Instead of verbally answering, Stiles headed towards the room, nodding when his father turned to see him. A small smile spread across the older man's face at the sight of his son carrying Gadget and he softly asked, "Is he wearing you out, yet?"

"Ha ha," Stiles grumbled sarcastically, heading towards the living room. He gently placed Gadget on the couch, heading towards the stairs to get a new shirt, stopping at the foot when his phone rang again.

"Yeah," he answered after checking the screen.

"_Stiles, it's Dr. Deaton."_

Stiles bit back a retort about caller I.D. and said, "What's up?"

"_I've read more on that spell you did," _the doctor started slowly, sounding as if he didn't want to deliver this news.

"And…?" Three days with Gadget, three days of taking care of a fake turned real, aging baby, had Stiles' paternal instincts kicking in, and he couldn't quite help the worry making itself known in his stomach. He already knew Gadget probably wasn't permanent, that was a problem in and of itself, but was he about to learn that the kid was going to be in pain during his last few days. Or that the doll would forever be aware; just a plastic observer for the rest of its duration as a high school parenting class project.

"_And it may be more permanent than we thought_," Deaton stated slowly, catching Stiles by surprise. What the hell did that mean?

**TW**

Derek managed to track Peter down to an old, rickety motel on the outskirts of the city. His uncle sat behind the wheel of his car, staring at one of the rooms, eyes narrowed slightly. With a sigh, Derek parked his car a few spaces away and started forward, sliding into the passenger seat next to Peter.

"You need me to help you stalk people?" Derek asked curiously, not smelling anything out of the ordinary from the room.

"Please, I've seen your stalking technique. If anyone needs help it's you," Peter retorted softly, eyes still on the room. "There's something not right about those people in there." Peter nodded towards the closed door, still eyeing it cautiously.

"Are they hunters?" Derek stared at the door, but he couldn't sense the familiar scent of metal signifying guns and bows.

"I don't know," Peter responded softly. "I just…" a tap cut the older wolf off and both uncle and nephew glanced towards the driver window to see a police officer ducking down to look at them. He gestured to the door, obviously wanting the two to get out of the vehicle, and Derek couldn't help rolling his eyes.

_Of fucking course._


	10. Chapter 10

**Sorry this is a little late. Been a bit busy.**

**Thanks for those who've read, reviewed, alerted, and favorited the last chapter. You guys are amazing.**

**Thanks for reading, leave me a comment if you want, and remember that I do not own these characters.**

**See ya!**

* * *

"It's not _like_ we did anything wrong," Peter stated drily the moment the police officer drove away.

"Stiles will never hear about this," Derek grumbled getting out of his uncle's car.

"Derek, I grabbed your hand. Seriously, I'm into a lot of stuff, but incest is where I draw the line."

"Shut up, Peter," Derek snapped stomping towards his car.

"Hey, how could _I _know that they were tourists? They were acting strange," Peter continued, ignoring Derek, easily keeping pace with him.

"I swear to God, Peter, if you call me again…"

"What if I'm bleeding," Peter questioned softly, an easy smile on his face, cocking his head to the side. "I could be dying. What would you do without your dear Uncle Peter?"

"Celebrate," Derek muttered crossing his arms, leaning against his car. "Look, unless it's an absolute emergency, do not call me. Understand?"

"Where's your sense of adventure?"

"It died with Laura," Derek replied sharply, turning to open his car door. "I swear Peter…"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, I understand. Don't call unless it's necessary."

There was something in his uncle's tone, something Derek didn't like, and for a split second he nearly ordered his uncle to go home. But he refrained, knowing it wouldn't do much good, so he sighed and said, "Don't kill anyone."

Derek opened his car door, slid inside, and shut it. He started his Toyota, rolling the window down, and looked up at Peter. His uncle merely smirked and turned, heading back towards his vehicle. Derek blew out a breath and waited until his uncle pulled out of the motel's parking lot before pulling a u-turn and heading back home.

It was dark by the time he had returned to Beacon Hills. He had tried calling Stiles five times, but the younger boy hadn't answered any of his calls. Worry left a twisted, ugly pit in Derek's stomach, but he tried to push it down. Just because Stiles wasn't answering didn't mean he was in trouble, and if he had been attacked (the words felt dirty rolling around Derek's head) he had Derek's pack _plus_ Scott there to protect him. Hell, even Lydia and Allison would step up to protect Stiles.

And if anything happened to Gadget; Derek had a feeling Stiles would amputate his left arm before he let anything bad happened to that little boy. Despite all his complaining since Friday, Stiles was growing just as attached to the kid as Derek; possibly more. It wouldn't be the same after Gadget reverted back to his original form.

When Stiles didn't answer a sixth time, Derek decided it wouldn't hurt to pay him a visit. Yes, he was worried, bordering on terrified that something had happened to Stiles. If something happened to him, Derek's pack wouldn't hear the end of it; nor would the Alpha rest until the_ thing_ had been dealt with.

He pulled into Stiles' driveway, very much aware of the sheriff's cruiser gone. Stiles' jeep still sat in the exact spot it always sat in, looking untouched. A light was on, indicating someone was home, but that didn't mean that _someone_ was okay. Getting out of his vehicle, Derek had to restrain himself from running towards the door.

He most certainly _did_ _not _frantically hammer on the door nor did he debate whether or not to kick the door in when no one answered. But finally, he heard familiar footsteps walk towards the door, Stiles' scent wafting over him, and the door slowly opened.

"Why haven't you been answering my calls?" Derek snapped before he could stop himself. It wasn't the reunion he had hoped for, but he hated being worried.

"Good to see you, too," Stiles retorted with a smile that didn't quite reach his eyes. Now that Derek _knew_ he was okay, the Alpha could smell a hint of anger and hurt on him.

"Are you okay?"

"Me? I'm fine. Better than fine. Peachy keen," Stiles replied forcefully, his hand tightening on the door. "What about you? Are you okay? Did you make any unplanned stops last night?"

"What are you…?"

"Deaton called, Derek!" Derek took a step back, expecting Stiles to take a swing or something. It wouldn't hurt _him_, but it'd damn well hurt the fragile boy standing in front of him and that's the last thing he wanted. "Why didn't you tell me you went to see him?" Before Derek could reply, Stiles was already talking again. "We aren't going to start this crap up again. You know where you don't tell me stuff and expect me to roll with it. That was a shitty move before we started dating, and now it makes me feel like you don't trust me or something."

"Stiles, I…"

"Gadget isn't just _your _kid. He's mine, I created him, and you suspecting he has some type of magical talent should have been discussed with me before you ran off to Deaton."

"Stiles…"

"No, I'm not done," he snarled cutting Derek off, startling the Alpha. "If we're going to start this crap up again…"

"Listen!" Derek finally snapped, taking a step towards the teen and covering Stiles' mouth with his hand. He pushed him inside, kicking the door shut behind him. He grabbed the teen's flailing hands with his free hand, ignoring the tongue defiantly running across his palm, and slowly said, "I was going to tell you. I swear to God, Stiles, I was, but the pack found out about Gadget last night and then Peter called today and I got distracted. They are lame ass excuses, I know, but I was going to tell you."

Stiles seemed to deflate at Derek's words, all the anger melting from him, and Derek felt it was safe to lower his hand from the teen's mouth. Quietly, Stiles said, "I'm sorry. I'm not mad at you."

"Could have fooled me," Derek muttered, half teasing, releasing the younger guy's hands. "What's wrong? Where's Gadget?"

"My dad took him out to eat," Stiles replied softly, crossing his arms, burrowing in on himself.

"Okay," Derek replied nodding. "So, are you going to tell me what happened?"

Stiles leaned forward, his forehead coming to rest on Derek's shoulder, and softly said, "I might have screwed up bigger than I thought."

"You didn't create another kid did you?" Derek jested halfheartedly, feeling Stiles shake his head against his jacket. Slowly, taking pity on the teen, Derek wrapped his arms around him. "Tell me what happened."

Stiles uncrossed his arms, letting them hang down at his sides, and muttered, "Deaton called, told me that Gadget may be more permanent than we thought."

Derek tensed slightly, unsure whether to be happy or upset by the news. As much as he had enjoyed having Gadget around the past few days, he wasn't sure he and Stiles were ready for the lifelong commitment of caring for a child. "What does that mean?"

Stiles sighed, "It means that we either find the counter spell before the full moon, or Gadget's aging will gradually slow until he becomes a normal boy."

"Stiles, the full moon's in a week," Derek reminded the teen.

"Yeah, I know," Stiles replied softly. "Der," the teen started, picking his head up to meet Derek's eyes, "it hurts to say, but you do realize we are not ready for a kid."

"I know," Derek whispered pulling the teen forward to press his lips to Stiles' forehead, feeling the younger guy's arm wrap around his waist. "We'll find the spell," he promised, burying his face in Stiles' hair. "Don't worry."

**TW**

The following morning, Derek found himself up at five-thirty, Gadget (looking very much like he did the day before) jumping up and down on his bed, begging him to get up. Derek groaned, wanting to go back to sleep, even for ten more minutes, but it was very unlikely with the four-year-old practically shouting in his ear. His best option would be to get the kid to stop jumping.

Snaking an arm around Gadget's middle, Derek yanked the kid down, listening to his surprised cry. Gadget softly hit the bed, and Derek proceeded to wrap his arms around the boy and curl around him.

"Daddy Derek, let me go," Gadget whined, squirming against the Alpha's hold.

"Sleeping," Derek murmured pretending to fall back to sleep. Gadget squirmed a few more times, reminding Derek of Stiles when the teen tried to get up when the Alpha stayed over and Derek wouldn't let him, but finally the kid just gave up.

He turned, his forehead resting against Derek's, and softly asked, "Is Daddy Stiles coming over today?"

"He's got school today," Derek replied just as soft, peeling one eye open. "He'll be back by four."

"When's that?"

With a groan, Derek released Gadget and rolled over, grabbing his alarm clock off the small nightstand next to his bed. He rolled back towards Gadget, showing the kid the clock, the glowing red numbers shining in his big, brown eyes. "When the red numbers say 'four-zero-zero.'"

"What does a 'four and zero' look like?" Gadget asked curiously, looking at the clock in awe. Derek smiled, placing the clock on his chest, and proceeded to fiddle with his alarm. He showed Gadget what four and zero looked like and, for good measure, set the alarm to 4 pm.

"There, now you'll know regardless," he announced putting the clock back.

"But what happens if we aren't here?"

"We'll be here," Derek promised quietly.

Gadget seemed to accept Derek's words because he nodded once and curiously asked, "What do the other numbers look like?"

"Do you really wanna see?" Derek asked curiously and Gadget nodded enthusiastically.

"Okay, we'll write them out." Although it was too damn early, Derek threw his covers off and got out of bed. Gadget jumped up excitedly and followed him across the floor. "Daddy Derek?"

"Yeah." Derek glanced down at Gadget, eyebrows raised slightly.

"Can we eat first? I'm hungry." The kid gave a smile that matched Stiles' verbatim and for a second Derek almost didn't want to find the counter charm for the spell. But one mental shake made him remember the declaration he and Stiles made the night before and he merely smiled and nodded, leading the kid towards the kitchen.

**TW**

A part of him knew he should really try to break his bond with Gadget, but Stiles knew it would be a futile attempt. Despite their rocky start, Stiles had grown used to having the kid around over the weekend. Now he just had to come up with a convincing lie about why he didn't have his kid today.

Lopek gave him an unsurprised glare when he explained that he left Gadget with his partner. She snorted once, made a note in her grade book, and then told him to go sit down. Stiles nodded, heading back to his seat, slowly sinking into his chair.

As class went on, he wondered what Derek and Gadget were doing today. He knew Derek had mentioned something about heading over to the vet's office, getting some research material from Deaton, but other than that Stiles had no idea what the Alpha had planned for today. For a split second, he had a fleeting image of Derek teaching Gadget how to do push-ups and pull-ups. He then entertained himself for the rest of the class, thinking about Derek doing push-up and pull-ups, maybe a few sit-up, with sweat dripping down his body. His toned, hard body…

Lucky for Stiles, the bell rang, knocking him out his fantasies, saving him from anything embarrassing. He cleared his throat, hurriedly collected his books, and discreetly covered himself up as he headed out of the classroom.

At lunch, Isaac and Danny asked about Gadget while Scott made plans to let the little boy see the puppies after school. Stiles protested, saying that was the last thing they needed, but Scott was adamant about it and Stiles eventually gave in.

"Oh, Stiles, there you are," Lydia said breathlessly, racing towards him. She leaned down next to him and said, "So, I went shopping yesterday…"

"Oh come on." Stiles held back an eye roll, turning to look at Lydia with an exasperated look. She merely shrugged, her face a look of pure innocence, and said, "Macy's had a sale. And I found the cutest pair of shoes for Gadget. Plus, Allison heard about him and she bought him a jacket with Alpha written on the back."

"You guys do realize he's going to have to turn back, right?" Stiles asked running his hands down his face. "He's not real. Jeez, you're acting like Derek and I just up and adopted a kid." He stood abruptly, knocking Lydia back a step, and snatched his tray off the table. "We aren't ready for him, okay guys, and no amount of spoiling is going to change our minds." He then stalked away.

If he were being honest-and since it was _just _him he could be-he wasn't really mad at his friends. He was mad at himself because a small, selfish part of him wanted to keep Gadget around, but in Beacon Hills they'd be lucky to keep a real child safe let alone a magically created child with too many special abilities. Their supernatural enemies would want him for their heinous schemes , hunters would probably want to kill him, and who the hell knew what any human would do to him if they found out about his origin.

It was safer for him if they just let him become a doll again. Stiles just wished his heart would see the logic in that statement.


	11. Chapter 11

**Thanks to those who reviewed, alerted, and favorited last chapter. You are amazing.**

**So, thanks for reading, leave me a comment if you can, and I don't own the characters from the show.**

**See ya!**

* * *

After a quick breakfast, Derek helped Gadget get dressed and left him on the floor with a coloring book and crayons that Melissa bought him yesterday. Derek wasn't exactly sure who told Scott's mom, or when in fact she actually dropped the book and crayons off, but it kept Gadget busy, so Derek was not about to look a gift horse in the mouth.

He quickly got dressed, texted a quick message to Deaton telling the vet he was on his way, and turned to Gadget. "Ready to go, buddy?"

"Where are we going?" Gadget asked curiously, his eyes still on the coloring book.

"To see Deaton," Derek replied moving across the room, grabbing a small, gray hoodie off the back of the couch.

"Do we have to?"

"Yes."

"Can I just stay here?" Gadget looked up his eyes wide, a perfect imitation of a puppy dog look, pouting slightly.

"You're becoming more like Stiles every day," Derek stated with narrowed eyes.

"So is that a maybe?" Gadget questioned with a sheepish grin. Shaking his head, Derek waved the gray hoodie at the small boy. With a heavy sigh, Gadget closed his coloring book, stood up, and took the sweatshirt from Derek. "Can I _at_ _least_ have a drink first?"

Two drinks, three snacks later, and one bathroom break later Gadget was finally loaded into the back of Derek's Toyota. As Derek tried to work the stupid child seat, Gadget complained, "I don't _like_ this seat. It's conforming."

"Confining," Derek corrected trying to keep the irritation out of his voice.

"Yeah that," Gadget agreed nodding. "Though, in a way, it is conforming. You're conforming to the rules of the road, Daddy Derek."

"We shouldn't have let Erica find out about you," Derek commented finally getting the seat's buckle to work.

"I didn't learn that from Erica," Gadget replied with a smug grin. The kid had a point. Erica hadn't exactly spent a lot of time around him since finding out. The only other people, besides himself and Stiles, to have any lengthy contact with Gadget had been the sheriff and…

"Isaac," Derek murmured shaking his head, backing out of the backseat. He shut the door on Gadget's continued chatter, moving towards the driver side door. He opened it, slid into the car, and listened to Gadget as he started the vehicle.

"Can we do numbers again?"

"Not while I'm driving."

"Can we just _say_ them then?"

"Go ahead," Derek consented glancing back at Gadget in the rearview mirror.

"Okay." The little boy closed his eyes, his face scrunching up in concentration, and finally he recited, "One, Two, Three…"

"…Four, Five, Six…"

"…Seven, Eight, Nine…"

"What's the next number?" Derek asked curiously, a small smile on his face.

Gadget's eyes popped open and he excited exclaimed, "TEN!"

"Wanna do it again?"

"Yeah, but this time don't help me."

"Okay." Derek raised one hand, telling Gadget he wasn't going to say anything, and listened closely as the kid began counting again. It was cute the first two times, but after listening to Gadget count all the way to Deaton's office, Derek was about ready to pull his hair out.

"…seven, eight…." Gadget trailed off when Derek pulled up to the vet's office. "What's anniemal mean?"

"Animal," Derek corrected softly, turning his car off.

"Okay, but what's it mean?"

"It's like a dog or a cat," the alpha responded glancing up at the sign that read: _Beacon Hills Animal Clinic._ "Did you read that from that sign?"

"Yup." Gadget nodded, his dark hair falling into his eyes. "I 'member the letters you showed me this morning. A-N-I-M-A-L. I can read the other letters, too. Do you wanna hear?"

"Maybe later buddy," Derek replied softly, opening the back door. Taking Gadget out of the seat was far easier than placing him in the seat, and soon they were heading into Deaton's place. Gadget clutched tightly to his coloring book, after insisting he bring it, crayons sticking out of his pocket.

The bell above them rang as the door opened, Deaton appearing around the corner a moment later. Gadget looked up at him and curiously asked, "Are you Deaton?"

"Yes I am. You must be Gadget." Deaton smiled softly, opening the swinging door separating the back from the front, effectively breaking the mountain ash barrier.

"That's what they call me," Gadget deadpanned, jerking his thumb back at Derek. "Though, to be perfectly honest, my daddies keep 'paring me to each other, so I guess I could be called Sterek or something."

Deaton chuckled softly, beckoning for both Derek and Gadget to follow him. The moment they were in the back, Gadget caught sight of the back room, the familiar sound of yips coming from inside. He furrowed his eyebrows, eyeing the room cautiously, and asked, "What's back there?"

"The animals," Deaton replied easily, crouching down to Gadget's height. "Would you like to go and see them?"

"Can I?" Gadget looked up at Derek, his eyes practically pleading. With a sigh, Derek nodded and Gadget practically ran towards the room, Deaton pushing himself up and slowly following him. Once in the room, Gadget exclaimed, "PUPPIES!"

Derek face palmed himself, wondering why in the hell he let the kid go back there, and then called, "We are not getting one!"

"Oh, you're no fun," Gadget protested wriggling his finger in one of the cages. "Can I play with one?" The small boy looked up at Deaton, flashing the vet the same pleading look, but Deaton, who seemed to have more willpower than Derek, merely shook his head and replied, "Perhaps later. I need to speak to your…" the vet hesitated for a moment before continuing, "…father for a moment. Did you bring something to do?"

"My coloring book," Gadget replied holding it up.

"Okay, you color while we talk and then maybe later I'll let you play with the puppies." Gadget looked like he wanted to argue, but he sighed and nodded, following Deaton back towards the front room.

As Gadget took a seat on the floor, Deaton moved over to Derek and softly said, "I've been collecting books since last night. I think if we split the research we should be able to figure out the counter-charm."

Talking about this did nothing to ease his physical need to keep Gadget. He remembered something his mother once said, about an Alpha bounding with their children. Though, he had a feeling it meant throughout their life, not in four days, but he couldn't quite help it.

"Okay," he forced out with a stiff nod. Deaton eyed him cautiously, a smidgeon of sympathy in his eyes, but before he could say anything a puffy, ratty looking dog raced past them, barking happily as a Saint Bernard puppy chased after it.

"Crap," Derek whispered as the two men turned towards the animal cages, spotting Gadget standing in the middle of the room, his shoulders hunched up and an innocent smile on his face. "I didn't do it," he exclaimed. Derek sighed, his doubts about Gadget having any type of magical ability all but shattered.

**TW**

After apologizing profusely to Deaton, and helping him round up the escaped dogs, he gathered the research material and his kid, ushering the latter out to the car. Gadget was being moody, no doubt an aftereffect of Derek yelling at him.

"Look, buddy, you can't just go around using your abilities like that," Derek explained, trying to find a shred of patience, working on the car seat buckle again. "It's dangerous, and if anyone _not_ aware of your magic found out…" the alpha let the words trail off, not wanting to think about it himself. "You need to be more careful."

"I'm sorry," Gadget grumbled crossing his arms. "I just wanted to play with the puppies."

"I know, but Deaton also told you no and you needed to respect that." Had this been a year ago, Derek would have seriously questioned his decision to give Gadget a lecture about respect. Back then, Derek barely respected himself, let alone anyone else, but right now he actually felt pretty confident in the words he was saying.

"I'm sorry," Gadget repeated, seeming to burrow deeper into himself.

"It's alright." Finally, Derek got Gadget strapped in, doing a little victory dance in his head. He almost heard Stiles say, '_Ha ha, suck it puny car seat. I am your god now.'_

With a snort, Derek closed the backdoor, wondering when he actually started hearing Stiles' voice in his head.

"Can we go to the park?" Gadget asked curiously when Derek slid into the driver seat.

A part of the alpha knew he should probably punish Gadget for releasing the dogs, something a bit more than a lecture, but a second, bigger part, didn't feel like spending all day inside, doing research (and, okay, it might also have something to do with not wanting to let Gadget go), so he heard himself agree.

"Don't use your magic again," Derek said over Gadget's celebrating. He then started the Toyota, pulling out of the parking lot. He figured they could spend a few hours at the park, maybe get some lunch, and then he could spend the day researching. It was a great plan, and he had the rest of the week to look for the spell if he didn't find it today.

Everything was going to be fine.

**TW**

Time was a funny thing. When someone is bored or doing something they don't particularly like, the clock seemed to drag on and on, making that person feel as if they were in purgatory or a very, very, very Office Space like version of Hell.

But when there's fun involved, or, say, an alpha is subconsciously trying to put off research he doesn't particularly want to do, then time really had a way of creeping up and bonking someone on the head.

Gadget and Derek didn't get back to the latter's loft until three-thirty. No big deal really, he still had a week's worth of research to do, but how was he going to explain to Stiles that the reason he was so late was because he decided to take Gadget to the zoo after the park? Or that he stopped by the sporting goods store and bought a tiny, baseball mitt so he could teach the kid how to throw? Or that they stopped for lunch at Chucky Cheese for reasons Derek just did not understand, and both boys gouged themselves on pizza.

"Okay, you go color," Derek said to Gadget, moving towards the couch. "I need to research, okay?"

Instead of answering, Gadget left his coloring book open on the floor and waited until Derek was sitting down before crawling onto the couch, snuggling in the alpha's lap. It was hard to research with a child in his lap, but Derek tried anyway, only to give up when he realized he was reading the same sentence over and over, his eyes drooping. This is what happened when he was awoken before dawn.

He placed the book on his coffee table, leaning back into the couch, his eyes slipping closed. He just needed a few minutes, just to let his body settle. He was an alpha, he suffered through worse than a tiring day with a toddler, had less sleep before, too, he'd be good a new in no time.

**TW**

Stiles let himself into Derek's apartment after school, stopping in the doorway when he spotted both Derek and Gadget passed out on the couch, the latter resting on the former's chest, one of the Alpha's arms wrapped protectively around the small boy. On the coffee table, several books lay opened, evidence of Derek's researching. Moving closer, Stiles noticed a dinosaur coloring book sitting next to a box of crayons on the floor, opened to a partially colored picture of two Stegosauruses.

Trying to forget about his blowup at lunch, and the way his heart clenched at the scene before him, Stiles kicked his shoes off, walking slowly towards the couch. He carefully crawled onto the couch, trying hard not to disturb either slumbering party, and settled his body on top of Derek, resting his head against Derek's chest, curling almost protectively around Gadget.

He felt an arm wrap around his shoulder, a nose burrow itself in his neck, but otherwise Derek didn't awake. Gadget seemed to edge closer to Stiles, but he too continued to sleep. Closing his eyes, Stiles listened to Derek's steady heartbeat, counting the beats until he fell asleep.


	12. Chapter 12

**I promise the next chapter will be longer, but I just wanted to get something up for you guys. So, enjoy.**

**Thanks for the reviews, alerts, and favorites last chapter. I don't own the characters (except for Gadget), and drop me a comment if you can.**

**Thanks for reading...**

* * *

Stiles was awoken barely an hour later to giggles, hushed whispers, and the snap of a camera phone. Someone moved beneath him, the sudden noise no doubt waking Derek, and he felt the Alpha's chest vibrate against his head when he softly said, "I heard you take that photo, Erica."

"I don't know what you're talking about," Erica replied innocently.

"You're impossible."

"You love me and you know it."

"No, we _tolerate _you," Stiles teased, his eyes still closed, feeling Derek's chest vibrate again as he chuckled. Erica playfully growled at Stiles and snapped another photo.

Stiles peeled his eyes open, a familiar pair of brown eyes meeting his, and Gadget smiled sleepily before softly saying, "I missed you today."

"I missed you, too," Stiles replied honestly, running a hand through the boy's dark hair. It was weird, how much he hadn't liked the kid on Friday, but today he couldn't stop thinking about Gadget. About how he didn't want to see the kid go but knowing he had to return to his original state. And just like that, his earlier worries returned and he stiffened, Derek immediately picking up on his change in mood.

"Are you okay?" he asked in Stiles' ear.

"Fine," Stiles lied, knowing he was caught, but he didn't elaborate when questioned further. Instead, he sat up, running a hand through his messy hair, and glanced over at Erica, Lydia, and Allison standing at the foot of the couch.

They eyed him carefully, Lydia taking it upon herself to step forward. She fixed him with a steely gaze and said, "You're a terrible liar even without the wolfie hearing. Just tell us what's going on?" The other girls nodded, and Stiles sighed, opening if mouth to explain, but surprisingly it was Derek who stated, "We're going to need the rest of the pack here to explain."

"Give me three minutes," Erica replied holding her phone up. Allison followed her lead and the two girls immediately began calling the boys.

Lydia moved towards the couch, making herself comfortable across Derek's legs, ignoring the glare he threw her. Gadget untangled himself from Stiles' arms, crawling towards Lydia, and ignored her protests as he clambered into her lap.

"I missed you," he said happily hugging her neck.

"Um, I missed you too?" Lydia awkwardly hugged Gadget back, and when Stiles snorted at her, she glared back at him.

Allison, the attentive friend that she was, looked down at Gadget and asked, "Hey Gadget, do you want a snack?"

"Can I?" he turned to Stiles and Derek, the pair nodding, and he let loose a whoop, jumping off Lydia and into Allison's arms. Giving Lydia a smile, Allison carried the small boy towards the kitchen. "Who are you?" he asked curiously.

"I'm Allison," she replied softly.

"Can I call you Auntie Allison?"Allison was taken aback by the question, but she her smile widened and she nodded after a beat. "You have pretty hair," Gadget commented as the two disappeared into the kitchen.

As Erica walked away from the group, muttering something to Boyd, a grin on her face, Derek turned his gaze to Stiles and Lydia and said, "I'm not a chair."

"But you're comfortable," Stiles whined burying his face in Derek's chest again. "Plus, you spent all day trying to keep a four-year-old entertained _while_ doing research. Don't you want a break?" Derek seemed to still at Stiles' words, not really uncommon, the man was the master at going statuesque when under duress, but this time it seemed different; almost guilty. Slowly, Stiles sat up again, giving Derek a cautious look, and asked, "What?"

Lydia sensed the change in Derek, scrambling off his legs and to her feet. She caught Erica's eyes, the blonde nodding once, and called, "Hey, Allison, why don't we go downstairs and wait for the boys!"

"Why…?" Allison trailed off, stopping in the doorway, her eyes settling on Stiles and Derek. "Hey, Gadget, you want to come downstairs with us?"

"Why?" he asked munching on a graham cracker, one arm wrapped around Allison's leg, his hand resting on her knee. "Oh," he said excitedly, brown eyes widening, "are we going to wait for Isaac? I wanna tell him about the zoo today."

"The zoo?" Stiles' eyebrows shot up in question, noting the way Derek's face went completely blank, _yet_ he couldn't seem to look the talkative teen in the eyes. "I think taking Gadget outside is a very good idea," he stated without looking at the girls.

"Come on, munchkin," Erica stated gesturing towards the door, "your daddy Derek is about to get his ass chewed."

"Wouldn't that be painful?" Gadget asked curiously and had Stiles not been irritated he probably would have laughed, but instead he waited until he heard the elevator rattling before rolling off of Derek and getting to his feet.

"So, you took him to the zoo today?" he crossed his arms, repeating the mantra 'don't yell, don't yell, don't yell' over and over in his head. "Did you, you know, get any research done today?"

"Some," Derek admitted sitting up, his face still carefully blank.

"How much is some?" _Don't yell, don't yell, don't yell…_

"Some," Derek repeated shrugging.

"A couple of hours worth? A few minutes? Did you even open the book?" Okay, that last one might have been shouted and really unnecessary because Stiles could clearly see the open book on the coffee table.

"What do you want me to say?"

"The truth, Derek! Did you do any research today? At all? And don't give me that," he lowered his voice in a terrible impersonation of Derek, "'_some,'" _only to return to his original tone, "crap."

Derek gave him an irritated look, but otherwise didn't respond, and Stiles felt his mouth drop open in silent protest. How dare he get irritated? Derek had no right to get irritated. He _knew _there was a deadline; he _knew_ they needed that research done as quickly as possible; he _knew_ Stiles had asked him to start today. He knew this; this should not come as a surprise to the Alpha.

"Am I going to have to do the research, too?" Stiles questioned through gritted teeth, folding his arms tightly across his chest.

"No," Derek replied with forced patience. "I _will _do some research."

"When? After Gadget goes to college?"

"Stiles…"

"Don't," Stiles snapped putting his hand up. "Just don't." He covered his face with his right hand, breathing deeply. He waited until he was calm before continuing, "I don't want him to go anymore than you do, but you know we can't have a kid; not yet, and certainly _not_ in this town."

"I know," Derek replied softly, after a beat, leaning his head back. "I'm sorry for…"

"No, it's fine." Stiles lowered his hand, waving the apology off. "It's just, all day everyone has been acting like we collectively decided to adopt Gadget or something. And this wave of guilt just kept eating at me, every time they said something about him, offered to do things with him, you know, but I knew I couldn't give in, couldn't let that feeling win, and I actually thought you were on my side, feeling the same way…"

"I am. I do."

"Then why didn't you do any of the research? If you _know_ we can't keep him, if you _know_ we can't give in no matter how guilty we feel, then why didn't you do what I asked?"

"Because I'm tired of losing people I care about, Stiles!" Derek exclaimed, jumping to his feet. It took a few seconds for his mind to catch up with his mouth, but when it did, from the look on his face, Stiles could tell Derek hadn't meant to say it.

A heavy silence fell over them, but Stiles broke it a moment later with a quiet, "I know." And he did know. He hadn't experienced loss like Derek had, but he wasn't exactly numb to it either. It had been nine years, but his chest still ached every time his mother was brought up; whether it be mentally or verbally. It just wasn't something they could _just_ get over. It clung to them like a dementor, sucking away at their soul, and the only way they managed to fight the dementor, _not_ let it consume them, was to remember the lost as they were and _not_ as they are now; a sort of emotional patronus but without the wands or cool animal shapes or, the important part, the ability to actually _not_ have their souls sucked out.

"I know," Stiles repeated uncrossing his arms, letting them dangle limply at his sides, "but it doesn't change that we can't keep him. He's not a puppy we've decided to adopt, or a plant we took the time to pick out, he's a living, breathing child, and..."

"I know, you already said we're not ready for a kid." Derek tilted his head back, running his hands down his face. "I'm sorry," he murmured lowering his head, meeting Stiles' eyes. "It's just…" he drew in a deep breath, and continued, "…the kid deserved one good day. Just one."

"Damn it, Der," Stiles started noting the puppy dog look on Derek's face (not quite at Scott and Isaac's level, but it gave Erica's a run for its money) and feeling his anger melt away, "I can't be mad at you when you get all sentimental like that."

"And you call me a sap," Derek murmured fighting a small smirk.

"Shut up," Stiles grumbled lightly pushing the alpha's shoulder. He barely moved an inch, and the younger boy scowled at him, with his stupid muscles and alpha strenght and the ability not to fall onto the couch like Stiles wanted him to; dating a werewolf _sucked_ sometimes.

Derek grabbed his hand, squeezing it lightly, obviously sensing the array of emotions rolling through the younger guy, and pulled Stiles towards him, wrapping one arm around his waist, pressing his lips to the side of his head. "I promise to do as much research as you need me to do."

"That's all I ask," Stiles replied softly, resting his head against Derek's chest, his own arm slotting through Derek's to wrap around his torso. "Erica," Stiles stated softly, voice muffled by Derek's shirt, "you guys can come up now."

The words were barely out of his mouth when the loft's elevator rattled to life, bringing the rest of the pack upstairs. The moment the door opened, Gadget took one look at the embracing couple, turned to Erica, put his hands on his hips, and said, "His butt is firmly attached, Auntie Erica. You are a liar."


	13. Chapter 13

**Sorry this is later. Not sure how many more chapters this'll have. Thanks for the reviews, alerts, favorites, and just plan reading.**

**Leave me a comment if you can and I don't own the characters from the show.**

**Bye!**

* * *

The pack took the news in stride. Lydia immediately went into research mode, recommending several books that she had read about the occult and dragging Jackson with her to go and get them from her home. Allison suggested she ask her father, see if he _knew_ anything, and Derek only agreed when Isaac and Scott said they'd go with her. And Boyd and Erica decided to take Gadget off their hands, giving Stiles, Danny, and Derek ample time to get the research started. They hadn't seemed happy about it, particularly the girls and Isaac, but they understood why Gadget couldn't stick around and that was all that mattered to Stiles. He and Derek had a pretty good pack of friends.

"I'm ordering pizza," Stiles announced the moment the last pack member left, looking down at Danny and Derek. "This feels like it's going to be a long night."

"Get extra cheese this time," Danny called after him as he headed towards the kitchen.

"Dude, of course I'm getting extra cheese," Stiles retorted turning to face his friend and boyfriend, walking backwards. "And anchovies for Der-Der." He smirked at the glare Derek threw him, backing into the wall. "Ow, shit."

"You okay?" Derek and Danny called both not even trying to hide their smirks.

"Shut up," Stiles grumbled, red-faced, and disappeared into the kitchen. He'd have a bruise, no doubt, but he ignored that little tidbit as he scrolled through his contacts. Living with a father who worked crazy hours, and could barely cook, left Stiles with several takeout places' numbers saved in his phone. He also was on first name basis with three out of the five people who worked at _Lucky's Pizza Joint_.

"_Lucky's,"_ a familiar voice picked up after the third ring, sounding thoroughly bored.

"Glenda?"

"_Stiles?"_ the voice immediately perked up. "_What can I getcha, sweetie? The usual?"_

"Not tonight," Stiles replied leaning against the counter, running a hand through his hair. "This is a big order. You got a pen?"

"_Always."_

After ordering enough food to feed an army (and with a six werewolves it was best to have extra), Stiles returned to the main room. Derek and Danny were pouring over a book, heads close together, muttering back and forth. When Stiles took a seat next to Derek, the older guy absentmindedly wrapped his right arm around his back, hand resting against the younger guy's bruise, and Stiles felt his pain get siphoned away.

"Isn't that abusing of your powers?" Stiles whispered softly, fighting a smile.

"I don't know what you're talking about," Derek retorted with a barely concealed smirk, his fingers tracking up and down Stiles' spine, making him shiver.

Danny rolled his eyes, shaking his head, and he teasingly muttered, "Get a room already." Stiles and Derek opted to ignore him, but neither could help the red creeping up their necks, the latter pulling his arm away and resting it on his leg.

Lydia and Jackson returned a few minutes after the pizza arrived, Jackson making a satisfied grunting sound when he smelled the sauce and cheese in the air. He dumped Lydia's books onto the coffee table, covering the research material Danny had neatly lain out, and, ignoring his best friend's glare, headed into the kitchen.

"He's been complaining about wanting something to eat since we left," Lydia said stiffly, shooing Stiles off the couch. He merely gave her one raised eyebrow, neglecting to move, and she snapped one finger and he fell off the cushion. "Sorry," she said smugly, not sorry at all, and sat down in his seat.

"You are the epitome of evil," Stiles grumbled crawling away from her, crossing his legs as he made himself comfortable on the floor. When Jackson returned, carrying two slices of pizza, Derek stood up and offered up his seat, sinking to the floor next to Stiles.

"You guys are sickening," Jackson commented through a mouthful of cheese, pepperoni, and dough.

"We're not the only ones," Derek commented drily and Stiles snorted.

Before Jackson could respond, the loft door opened and Isaac, Allison, and Scott piled inside. As the two boys automatically headed to the kitchen, Allison dropped down next to Stiles and said, "My dad said he'll look into it."

"He also said not to use random magic again, Stiles," Scott added returning to the main room, carrying one box of pizza. Isaac followed, a plate clutched in his hands, piled high with a half-dozen slices. They both sat on the floor, opposite of Derek and Stiles, and immediately began digging into their pizza.

"You guys are lucky you're werewolves," Lydia sniffed dragging a few books towards her. "That would go straight to your thighs if you weren't."

"I like to think it'd go to our butt," Isaac stated with a grin. Lydia scoffed, rolled her eyes, and glanced down at her book.

"Maybe it'd go to _both_ our thighs and our butt," Scott supplied and both he and Isaac giggled like two girls.

"Maybe _they_ should get a room," Danny whispered teasingly and Stiles snorted again. Derek chuckled softly while Allison grinned.

"Hey," Scott and Isaac exclaimed and shied away from each other, moving towards their significant others. It felt normal, the banter the pack usually shared during a group research session, and Stiles almost let himself forget why they were pouring over dusty volumes full of words written in fonts almost too small for them to see, but Gadget's face swam around in his mind, reminding him, and Stiles felt his smile slip off his face. He could tell the rest of the pack came to the same conclusion, a heavy silence settling over the group.

They were quiet for a good thirty-five minutes before every werewolf went still, leaving the human's eyeing them carefully. Derek was the first to speak, already on his feet and towards the door. "Blood."

"What do you mean blood? Do you smell it? Is someone bleeding? Who's bleeding?" Stiles jumped up, intending to follow Derek, but froze, mid-step, when the door slid open and Erica and Boyd stepped inside, Gadget sobbing in the former's arms, the knee of his jeans torn out, blood staining the blue material.

"Oh my God." Stiles moved forward, pushing past Derek, and took the little boy from the she-wolf. "We leave you alone with him for one hour…" he trailed off, grumbling, and carried Gadget towards the bathroom, Derek right on his heels, both guys ignoring Erica and Boyd's mumbled apologies.

If the spell didn't work, or they couldn't find it, Stiles was seriously considering wrapping Gadget in a plastic bubble.

**TW**

"It's okay, buddy," Derek said softly, hand resting against Gadget's knee, siphoning some of his pain, black veins creeping up his arm. "You're okay."

"Can you tell us what happened?" Stiles asked crouching down at Gadget's eye level, holding a bandage in his hand.

"I-I f-fell," Gadget hiccupped wiping at his still streaming eyes, sniffing. "I-I f-fell o-out of the c-car and h-hit my knee o-on the s-sidewalk. Uncle B-Boyd t-tried to t-take a-a-away m-my pain, but there w-w-was too m-many people."

"It's okay," Stiles murmured maneuvering around Derek's hand, placing the bandage over the kid's wound. "You just need to be more careful next time." Stiles was not a stranger to falling off, or out, of things, old scars littering his body _way_ before the 'Scott became a werewolf' fiasco. He didn't blame Gadget for the accident, but he did feel sorry for the kid.

"I-I w-will," Gadget stammered nodding. "T-that w-wasn't fun."

"No, I bet it wasn't," Stiles agreed with a smile. Gadget returned it, albeit his was a little watery, and wiped at his eyes again. "Do you want some pizza?" Gadget nodded. "Me, too."

"I'll clean up in here," Derek offered and Stiles nodded, gathering Gadget into his arms and carrying him out of the bathroom.

He walked by the pack, waving off Erica and Boyd's second attempt at an apology, moving towards the kitchen. Setting Gadget on the floor, Stiles dragged a plate out of one of Derek's cabinets, opening the closest pizza box.

"What kind of pizza do you want?"

"Uh, candy?"

"Ha, ha nice try, but there is no candy pizza," Stiles replied turning to see the pizza's toppings had already turned into M &Ms and Skittles, the sauce turned into chocolate, and the cheese looked like gummy worms all on top of a cookie base. "Did you do magic?"

"No." An innocent look crossed Gadget's face, but he wouldn't look Stiles in the eyes.

"You're a terrible liar."

"You would know," Scott teased walking into the kitchen. He glanced at the cookie pizza, a lopsided smile crossing his face, and grabbed a slice before turning to Gadget. "Come on, squirt, you can have some of my pizza." He grabbed Gadget around the middle, his grin widening as the kid giggled, and carried him out of the room.

"I am a fantastic liar," Stiles called after his friend. "It's just hard to lie around a pack of werewolves." He waved his hand dismissively, turning to the candy pizza. He scoffed, shaking his head, but still grabbed a slice.

"Do you really think you need sugar?"

"Hey, I'd mainline sugar and caffeine if I could," Stiles responded turning to face Derek.

"And you'd be ten times more annoying than you already are," Derek jested, his lips quirking up.

"Rude," Stiles stated in a faux-hurt voice, peeling a Skittle off his pizza and throwing it at Derek. "Besides, blame your spawn on this not me."

"If I'm not mistaken," Derek started slowly crossing the room, "he's your spawn, too."

"Semantics." Stiles waved his hand, grinning when Derek wrapped his arms around the younger guy's waist. Stiles wrapped his arms around the alpha's neck, leaning forward until their foreheads met. "Tell me we're doing the right thing," he muttered his smile falling from his face, suddenly serious.

"You said it yourself," Derek said softly. "And, in a few years, after you've finished college, we could always try bringing him back. Maybe figure out how to do the spell correctly so he doesn't age so rapidly."

"You still wanna have kids with me after this?"

"Obviously not until you're ready, and if we're still together…"

"Oh, don't worry Der-Der, you're not going to get rid of me that easily," Stiles replied against Derek's lips. "Not unless Jennifer Lawrence or Alex Gaskarth walked through the door and asked me on a date then, you know, all bets are off."

"Why do I put up with you?"

"Because you _love_ me." Their lips brushed together into a light kiss, but they were interrupted by Lydia calling, "Hey, reel in the hormones and get in here. I think we found it!"


	14. Chapter 14

**This story is slowly dwindling down, but I've got a few more chapters to go so don't fret :)**

**Thanks for everyone who reviewed, alerted, and favorited last chapter. I don't own these characters. And drop me a comment if you can.**

**See ya!**

* * *

The spell was actually quite simple. Stiles and Gadget had to be in the exact spot the first was cast, on midnight, on the full moon. If he tried reversing the spell before or after midnight, it wouldn't work and Gadget would become a real boy. So, they still had three whole days with the little boy, and a part of Stiles had no idea if he could actually get through them, and he could tell Derek felt the same way. The rest of the pack, however, had no qualms with spending that time with Gadget.

"Don't you two have school today?" Stiles' father asked when Isaac and Danny showed up early Tuesday morning, both wearing swim shorts and loose t-shirts.

"And why are you dressed like you're going to the beach?" Stiles questioned looking between the two suspiciously, his arms folded tightly against his chest.

"Because we are," Danny said confidently, a smirk on his face. "Isaac and I have decided to take Gadget to the beach today. And it's totally fine, Mr. Stilinski, we both have free periods first thing in the morning." Isaac nodded enthusiastically.

"He's not even up, yet," Stiles lied forcing himself not to look towards the living room, where Gadget sat watching some weird cartoon.

"You're a liar," Isaac stated triumphantly.

"Stupid werewolf hearing," Stiles grumbled walking away from the others, ignoring the way Isaac beamed and deciding it was _not_ adorable.

"Hey buddy," Isaac greeted Gadget as he followed Stiles into the living room.

"Uncle Isaac!" Gadget exclaimed bounding off the couch and running at the werewolf, crashing into his legs, wrapping his arms around his waist in a tight hug.

"You're acting like you haven't seen him in days," Stiles pointed out exasperated, gesturing towards the embracing pair.

"To kids, twelve hours seems like days," his father replied from the living room's entryway. He was leaning against the wall, arms crossed, a small smirk on his face. Danny stood behind him, watching Isaac with a look Stiles recognized from Scott and Boyd when they were looking at Allison and Erica.

"You know, Derek looks at you the same way," his dad muttered to him, and Stiles could feel heat creep up his neck, turning his face a deep crimson.

After Isaac and Danny had Gadget packed up (the smaller boy predictably very excited about visiting the beach), and promised the sheriff to be back well before their free period ended, Stiles rushed up the stairs to continue getting ready for school while his father went out back to putter around in his tool shed, deciding to spend his day off working on some of those half-finished projects he never got around to completing.

"Maybe I'll have Gadget help me," the older man had suggested as he and Stiles had parted ways. Stiles could only groan having long since given up trying to remind everyone that Gadget was not sticking around.

As he searched under his bed for his left Converse, his cell phone buzzed against his desk. He crawled out from underneath, cracking his head on the edge, and swore loudly. Rubbing his sore spot, he dragged himself to his feet and staggered towards the phone.

"Yeah," he snapped into the receiver, forgoing actually checking the caller I.D.

"_Is that any way to greet your possible uncle-in-law?_" Peter drawled on the other end, a smirk in his voice.

"Ah, the bane of my existence," Stiles retorted in faux-excitement, ignoring the way his stomach swooped at the thought of Peter's words. "What do you want?"

"_Why does everyone…?"_

"Peter," Stiles growled, for a moment channeling his inner Derek.

"_My nephew has trained you well_," Peter replied softly, chuckling. "_I need help."_

Opting to ignore the thing about training, Stiles testily asked, "Why would I, of all people, help you? Besides, didn't you already 'ask' for help? And, if I recall correctly, it was a 'faux pas' on your part."

"_That was the past. I'm way past it, as is Derek, I am sure. I called for actual help, and you are the only one I trust to do it."_

"Does it have anything to do with posing as your lover? Because I told you once before, I do not find you remotely attractive." Okay, so it was a lie, but the prospect of ever having a _thing_ with Peter left Stiles queasy… and definitely _not_ in the good way.

"_As flattered as I am that you've given it some thought." __Have not.__ "That is not what I need help with. Do you possibly know anything about kelpies?"_

"Seriously, what the hell are you doing in L.A? And how the hell did Kelpies get involved? Aren't those things indigenous to Scotland?"

"_Stiles, I just need to know_."

"Look, dude, Derek may have a squishy spot when it comes to family, but I still find you mildly annoying, not to mention still a little crazy, and no amount of 'potential' uncle-in-law crap will get me to help you."

"_I'll buy you the new Playstation 4 when it comes out,"_ Peter said slowly peaking Stiles' interest. That wasn't supposed to come out for possibly another year.

"You lie," he started suspiciously, eyebrows furrowed, hating how excitement unfurled in his stomach at the prospect of getting a Playstation 4. It also left a cold, slithering pit in his stomach to know that Peter knew his price.

"_On my collection of vintage records, I promise I will get you that gaming system. If, and only if, you tell me about Kelpies."_ Stiles knew how much Peter loved those records, almost more than his own life (definitely more than Derek's), and even if Stiles didn't get the system (he'd unload a clip of wolfsbane in Peter's torso if he didn't), he could still hope the kelpie took a huge chunk out of Peter's leg. Or arm, maybe his head.

"Fine," Stiles finally said with a heavy sigh, moving towards his computer. "I've got fifteen minutes to kill anyway."

After giving Peter as much information as he could, Stiles forgone wearing his Converse sneakers, grabbed his Vans and backpack, and headed out of his room, rushing down the stairs. He checked his watch-surprised to see he was actually leaving five minutes earlier than usual-and hopped into his jeep, throwing his crap in the back and starting it. Who really needed to wear shoes to drive anyway?

**TW**

Derek parked in front of the Stiles' house, putting his car in park. He turned the engine off, but didn't get out. Instead, he studied the jeep-less driveway, one arm resting on the steering wheel while the other stretched across the windowsill. Three days; they had three days until the spell had to be reversed. How did someone spend three days with a child that they didn't exactly want to part with? Logically Derek agreed with Stiles, they were far from ready for the responsibility of a child, but emotionally…

With a heavy sigh, Derek pulled his keys from the ignition and got out of his car. He headed towards the front door, knocking softly, but no one answered. He knocked once more before he heard voices coming from the backyard.

Stepping off the stoop, Derek followed the voices, unlocking the gate and heading across the Stilinskis' backyard, stopping when he spotted a small shed. Its door was wide open, and Gadget and the sheriff were working on a birdhouse.

"Sand with the grain," the sheriff informed Gadget and guided the boy's hand away from him. For a brief moment, Derek could easily replace Gadget with a much younger Stiles, helping his father with one of his pet projects. Of course, Gadget had a smidgeon more patience than Stiles, so the scenario may have gone a little differently.

"Are you going to stand there or are you going to help?" the sheriff asked suddenly, startling Derek. He looked around, wondering if the older man had been speaking to anyone else, but when Gadget exclaimed, "Daddy Derek!" the werewolf realized it had been some freaky, sheriff intuition at work.

"Hey buddy," Derek greeted the boy as the boy raced towards him, throwing his arms around the werewolf in a tight hug. "Why do you smell like ocean and sand?"

"Because Isaac and Danny took him to the beach," Stiles' father replied with a smile, stepping out of his shed.

"It was awesome!" Gadget shouted clinging tightly to Derek's left leg. "We builded sandcastles and Uncle Isaac and I buried Uncle Danny when he fell asleep. They then buyed me an ice cream before we had to come home so they could go to school. I also finded a bunch of shells!" He released Derek's leg, grabbed his hand, and proceeded to try and drag him towards the house. "Come and see them!"

Derek followed Gadget, listening as the sheriff trailed behind them. They headed inside, Gadget pushing Derek towards the kitchen table before hurrying into the living room. As the werewolf took a seat, Stiles' father walked past the dining room and into the kitchen, appearing a few seconds later with two beers. He set one down in front of Derek, opened the second, and sat down across from the younger guy.

"You do realize my son's at school, right?" the sheriff started slowly, taking a drink of his beer.

"I know," Derek replied picking up his unopened bottle and studying it. "I was…" he trailed off, replacing his bottle back on the table when Gadget reappeared lugging a plastic, green bucket behind him. He handed the bucket to Derek and proceeded to crawl into one of the empty chairs.

Derek set the bucket on the table, and Gadget tipped it over, spilling sea shells all over the table. As the little boy began showing off each shell, describing how he, Isaac, and Danny had found them, Derek felt the sheriff's eyes on his the entire time.

After the shells had been put back in the bucket and Gadget had retreated into the living room to play with his stuffed wolf, the sheriff got up. He returned with another beer, nodding his head at Derek's untouched bottle. "It tends to lose its appeal when it gets warm."

"I'm not thirsty," Derek stated pushing the bottle away from him. He rested his elbows on the table, leaning forward, but otherwise didn't say anything. Truthfully, he wasn't exactly sure what he was doing there only that he really needed to talk to someone that wasn't Stiles or his pack.

"Problem Derek?"

"What?" He looked up, green eyes meeting blue, and said, "Um…" Stiles would call him a regular 'word master' for that response.

"You don't want to change him back, do you?"

"What?" Sometimes Derek forgot that the sheriff wasn't a werewolf but merely a very perceptive human, and it usually took the older man's scent to remind him. "It's not…"

"Derek, I get where you're coming from, believe me I do, but not only are you not ready for this kind of responsibility, Stiles is definitely not ready. I want him to graduate, go to college, get some menial private investigator job, because let's face it he's already on that track, and then, when he's done everything he needs to, he can think about children. Besides, he's still a kid himself…"

"I know," Derek replied leaning back in his chair. "And I agree with you and him, but…" he looked down at the table. "I never thought I'd have kids, much less with someone I actually wouldn't mind having them with, and now that I have it…" He gestured helplessly, unable to think of a good enough phrase to describe what he was feeling. Emotions were just not his area, especially talking about them with someone who isn't Stiles.

"Look, I've seen you and my son together," the sheriff started taking a drink from his beer, "and I've got very little doubt you two won't end up being end game, but maybe you should keep the 'let's get married and have kids' conversation on the back burner until Stiles is out of college."

Derek merely grunted, neglecting to mention that he and Stiles had already talked about that the night before. He grabbed the beer sitting next to his arm, peeling at the label, and asked, "You really think Stiles is going to become a P.I.?"

"Kid, have you met my son? I love him to death, but he's the nosiest person I've ever met. He's either going to become a P.I. or a reporter. And, since I know for a fact he hates writing, he's probably not going to work for a paper anytime soon."

"And you're okay with that?"

"As long as he's got you around to keep an eye on him, I am," the sheriff replied draining his beer and standing. "You are surprisingly good for him." He then walked out of the room, leaving Derek smirking at the older man's backhanded comment and feeling slightly better.


End file.
